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HG  8952  H9  E6 

"NIVERSITV    OF   CALIFORNIA     SAN    DIE 


'^'f'ZiSLC^ 


3  1822  01310  2595 


i. 


\ 


•'v* 


The  De  Vinne  Press  certifies  that  this  copy- 
is  one  of  an  edition  of  ten  thousand  copies 
printed  by  order  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of 
the  United  States. 


HENRY  BALDWIN  HYDE 

A   BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 


HENRY  BALDWIN  HYDE 


A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 


;r^^vtA^?i-  i.- 


^. 


N^W  YORK 

PRINTED  AT  THE  DE  VINNE  PRESS 

1901 


Copyright,  1 901,  by 

The  Equitable  Life  Assura.nce  Society 

OF  THE  United  States 

M93 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  not  a  biography ;  it  is  merely  a  gather- 
ing together  of  reminiscences  which  might  otherwise 
be  lost  Not  until  a  detailed  history  of  the  first  forty 
years  of  the  Equitable  Society  has  been  written  can 
the  story  of  the  life  of  its  founder  be  adequately  told. 

An  appendix  has  been  added  to  the  sketch  in  which 
will  be  found,  among  other  interesting  material,  the 
reminiscences  of  a  number  of  Mr.  Hyde's  early  asso- 
ciates and  others  competent  to  judge  of  his  character 
and  achievements.  Quotations  have  been  freely  made 
from  some  of  these  papers. 

The  book  is  published  in  accordance  with  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Equitable  Life 
Assurance  Society  of  the  United  States,  adopted  May 
lo,  1899,  which  reads  as  follows: 


Resolved,  That  Messrs.  James  W.  Alexander,  James  H.  Hyde,  and 
William  Alexander  be  appointed  a  committee  to  supervise  the 
preparation,  in  behalf  of  this  Board,  of  a  historical  sketch  of  the 
life  of  Mr.  Hyde,  to  be  published  by  the  Society. 


8  PREFACE 

The  Board  also  adopted,  on  the  same  date,   the  fol- 
lowing resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  in  testimony  of  our  recognition  of  the  great  and 
noble  work  accomphshed  by  Henry  B.  Hyde  for  the  Equitable 
Society,  and  for  the  cause  of  life  assurance  in  the  United  States  and 
throughout  the  world,  a  portrait  statue  of  Mr.  Hyde,  designed  by  a 
competent  sculptor,  executed  in  the  best  manner,  and  composed 
of  appropriate  materials,  be  erected  to  his  memory  by  this  Society 
in  the  Grand  Central  Hall  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  Equitable 
Building,  and  that  on  the  base  of  this  monument  a  suitable  inscrip- 
tion be  placed  certifying  to  the  fact  that  he  was  the  creator  and 
founder  of  the  Society. 

Resolved,  That  the  vignette  designed  under  Mr.  Hyde's  direction, 
when  the  Equitable  Society  was  organized,  to  embellish  the  head- 
ings of  its  policies,  personifying  Life  Assurance  as  the  protector  of 
the  widow  and  orphan,  be  incorporated  in  the  design  forming  the 
heading  of  all  policies  issued  by  this  Society  hereafter,  and  that 
under  this  vignette  the  following  words,  "  Henry  Baldwin  Hyde, 
Founder,  July  26,  1859,"  be  inscribed,  as  a  permanent  record 
and  memorial  of  his  life's  work  in  behalf  of  the  Society  which  he 
created,  and  which  has  prospered  under  his  guidance  and  care  for 
a  period  of  nearly  forty  years. 


"  My  rule  in  everything  that  is 
to  be  done,  from  writing  a  let- 
ter to  planning  an  important 
business,  is  to  use  my  best  skill, 
regardless  of  time,  engage- 
ments, and  everything  else. 
This  rule  has  governed  my 
labors  for  the  Equitable." 
Henry  B.  Hyde. 
December  29,  1897. 


CHAPTER   I 


EARLY   TRAINING 


Henry  Baldwin  Hyde  was  born  in  the  village  of 
Catskill,  New  York,  on  the  15th  of  February,  1834, 
where  his  father,  Henry  Hazen  Hyde,  was  actively 
engaged  in  mercantile  business.  Their  American 
ancestor  was  William  Hyde  of  England,  who,  in  1633, 
crossed  the  ocean  and  became  one  of  the  settlers  of 
Norwichtown  in  Connecticut,  where  he  died  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 68 1.  His  descendants,  actuated  by  the  restless 
spirit  which  has  scattered  the  sons  of  New  England 
throughout  the  country,  and  contributed  to  it  the 
sterling  qualities  of  that  blood,  pushed  westward  for 
the  betterment  of  fortune ;  and  one  branch  estab- 
lished itself  on  the  undulating  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
at  the  foot-hills  of  the  Catskill  Mountains. 

To  the  village  school,  which  his  father  had  at- 
tended, young  Hyde  went  to  receive  instruction  from 
the  schoolmaster,  John  C,  Johnson,  who  had  been  his 
father's  preceptor.  Of  those  early  days  Mr.  Hyde 
said  little  beyond  that  he  well  remembered  going,  as  a 


12  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

boy,  to  the  small  dock  at  Catskill  Landing  and  wist- 
fully watching  the  boats  sail  for  New  York,  wonder- 
ing whether  the  time  would  ever  come  when  he, 
too,  should  go  to  the  great  city  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river. 

When  he  attained  the  age  of  sixteen,  a  desire  to 
seek  fortune  in  New  York  city  inspired  him.  He  re- 
solved to  go  forth  and  become  an  actor  in  the  great 
theater  of  commercial  life  of  which  he  had  heard  so 
much. 

Even  to  the  Catskills,  in  and  about  this  time,  which 
was  during  the  year  1850,  when  conveniences  of  travel 
were  not  so  many  as  they  are  to-day,  there  came  cer- 
tain letters  and  documents  explaining  life  assurance, 
and  dwelling  upon  its  benefits.  Among  those  who  were 
impressed  by  the  information  thus  given  of  a  growing 
industry,  then  comparatively  new  in  the  United  States, 
was  the  schoolmaster,  John  C.  Johnson.  He  was  a 
tall,  active  man,  with  long  gray  hair  and  a  command- 
ing personality.  He  was  a  good  talker,  and  becoming 
desirous  of  enlisting  in  the  new  occupation,  he  secured 
a  contract  as  an  agent  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  New  York,  then  in  its  eighth  year.  At 
once  he  prevailed  upon  Henry  Hazen  Hyde  to  enlist 
in  the  service  of  the  same  company;  and  so,  in  1850, 
the  records  show  that  from  the  village  of  Catskill  three 
persons  set  forth  —  a  schoolmaster  and  pupils  of  two 
generations,  who,  within  ten  years,  were  to  make  their 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  13 

separate  and  distinctive  marks  on  the  business  of  life 
assurance.-^ 

Young    Hyde,    finding  no  opening    for   himself  in 
New    York,  went  to   Honesdale,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he    remained    for    a    few     months;     but    before     the 
close  of  the   year   1850  he  returned  to    the  city   and 
secured  a  clerkship  in  the  mercantile  house  of  Mer- 
ritt,  Ely    &  Co.,  where    he    remained    for   two    years. 
Mr.  William  A.  Wheelock,  one  of  the   Equitable   So- 
ciety's   directors,  says:    "My   first    acquaintance   with 
Mr.  Hyde  was  during  the  two  years  previous  to  his 
employment  by  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company. 
It  was  early  in  the  fifties  that  he  came  to  the  firm  of 
Merritt,  Ely  &  Co.,  who  were  in  the  importing  and  job- 
bing dry-goods  trade,  and  into  which  firm  I  had  then 
been  admitted  as  a  partner,  after  having  served  with 
them  for  five  years,  beginning  immediately  after  gradu- 
ating from  the  New  York  University.     My  department 
in    the  business  called    me   to   reside   in   Manchester, 
England,  during  the  entire  period  of  Mr.  Hyde's  clerk- 
ship in  our  house,  as  I  had  charge  of  the  purchase  of 
foreign  goods,  and  it  was  only  twice  during  each  year 
that  I  came  to  this  country,  remaining  about  a  month 
on  each  occasion.     During  such  visits  I  met  Mr.  Hyde 
frequently,  and  had  a  very  pleasant  acquaintance  with 

1  Mr.  Johnson,  after  some  years  of  through  various  changes,  became, 

experience   with    the    Mutual   Life,  in    1865,  the  Northwestern  Mutual 

went   West,    and   in    1858    started  Life  Insurance    Company   of   Mil- 

a   company    which,    after    passing  waukee. 


H 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


him.  He  entered  heartily  into  the  business,  in  which, 
of  course,  he  occupied  a  subordinate  position,  as  he  was 
one  of  the  youngest  clerks.  He  has  frequently  stated 
to  me  that  the  foundation  of  his  success  was  due  to  the 
strict  discipline  which  he  was  under  during  those  two 
years.  He  was  an  efficient  clerk,  and  most  agreeable 
personally,  and  even  at  that  period  of  his  life  gave 
great  promise  of  what  his  future  was  to  be.  Those 
who  knew  him  then  had  no  difficulty  in  predicting  for 
him  great  success.  Even  at  that  early  day  his  active 
brain  seemed  to  foresee  the  very  great  opportunity 
which  later  on  presented  itself  in  the  life  assurance 
business,  and  it  was  this  which  led  him  to  enter  a  field 
which  in  his  judgment  promised  such  great  results. 
From  that  period  until  his  death  my  acquaintance  with 
him  and  my  affection  for  him  were  of  the  most  delight- 
ful character." 

In  January,  1852,  young  Hyde  obtained  a  subordi- 
nate position  in  the  office  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company.  In  the  same  year  his  father  was  appointed 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees  "  as  the  agent  of  this  com- 
pany," and  was  commissioned  by  the  president  to  go 
forth  and  "visit  many  cities  and  towns  of  the  United 
States  for  the  purpose  of  extending  a  knowledge  of 
the  strength  and  high  standing  of  the  company,  to 
confer  with  agents  already  appointed,  to  select  others, 
and  to  inspire  all  with  energy  and  zeal  in  their  efforts 
to  seek  applications  for  life  insurance."     He  was  the 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  15 

right  man  to  do  this  missionary  service ;  for  he  was  a 
natural  negotiator,  fluent  in  speech,  earnest  in  persua- 
sion, and  beheving  that  Hf'e  assurance,  next  to  the 
Gospel,  was  the  one  thing  that  all  men  needed. 

Meanwhile  his  son  was  rising  in  the  esteem  of  the 
trustees  of  the  company,  who  in  due  time  appointed 
him  to  the  responsible  position  of  cashier.  It  has 
been  frequently  stated  that  it  was  to  the  experience  he 
acquired  during  his  service  of  seven  years  in  the 
office  of  the  Mutual  Life,  that  Mr.  Hyde  was  in- 
debted for  his  first  knowledge  of  the  assurance  busi- 
ness. But  this  is  not  strictly  true.  It  was  from  two 
or  three  of  the  principal  agents  of  the  company, 
notably  from  his  father,  that  he  gained  that  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  life  assurance  which  guided 
him  in  the  inception  of  his  life-work.  He  listened 
to  their  experiences ;  from  their  reports  he  gathered 
the  most  valuable  information  obtainable ;  he  under- 
stood what  buyers  of  assurance  sought ;  he  learned 
to  appreciate  the  labors  of  soliciting  agents.  He 
studied  the  theory  as  well  as  the  practice  of  life  as- 
surance, and  thoroughly  understood  the  relation  be- 
tween buyer  and  seller,  the  assured  and  the  assurer. 
He  noticed  that  the  existing  companies  could  not  ac- 
cept all  the  business  offered  to  them,  some  having 
limited  their  risks  on  a  single  life  to  $5000;  while 
the  limit  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  was 
$10,000,  and    its    agents   were    frequently    compelled 


i6  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

to  go  elsewhere  to  place  many  of  their  applications. 
In  these  facts  he  saw  that  there  was  room  for  another 
company  to  catch  the  large  overflow  of  business.  Re- 
flecting upon  them,  he  sought  and  followed  the  advice 
of  his  father.  Thus  destiny  reserved  for  the  youngest 
of  the  three  who  traveled  from  Catskill  to  New  York 
in  1850  the  great  work  of  founding  the  Equitable 
Life  Assurance  Society  of  the  United  States,  in  1859. 
His  father  deserves  at  least  a  passing  notice.  He 
had  become  the  representative  of  the  Mutual  Life  in 
Boston,  where  he  subsequently  managed  with  great 
success  a  general  life  assurance  agency,  offering  risks 
to  the  Mutual,  the  Equitable,  the  Washington,  and  other 
companies  that  were  competent  to  accept  them.  His 
activity  is  described  in  a  letter  to  his  son :  "  I  come  to 
my  office  in  State  Street  at  eight  o'clock ;  I  work  with 
all  my  might ;  at  two  o'clock  I  dine ;  I  work  until  half- 
past  six  o'clock ;  I  go  home  tired  in  body  and  mind ; 
I  rest,  and  doze,  and  retire  to  bed  at  half-past  nine  ; 
arise  at  five  ;  at  half-past  five  I  mount  a  spirited  horse 
with  a  good  friend,  and  we  dash  off  ten  miles,  return- 
ing in  one  and  a  half  hours."  He  did  as  large  a  busi- 
ness (considering  the  circumstances  of  his  time)  as  any 
life  assurance  agent  is  doing  to-day.  In  a  letter  to  his 
son,  April  8,  1863,  he  says:  **  I  rejoice  at  the  continued 
success  of  your  company.  I  have  just  looked  to  see 
what  amount  I  have  sent  you  in  cash,  which  is  consid- 
erable in  bearing  you  forward : 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  17 

Premiums 

1859 $11,527.87 

i860 11,395.70 

1861 21,905.54 

1862 25,453.09 

1863  to  March  31  .         .        .        .         .  9,260.12 

$79»S42.32 

One  loss  by  death,  $3000.  It  needs  great  wisdom 
and  carefulness  in  your  management  to  secure  a 
steady  onward  movement.  Relapse  and  reaction  are 
formidable  to  encounter,"  In  a  letter  of  November, 
1863,  he  says  to  his  son:  "I  have  done  about  one 
fifth  of  your  entire  business,  policies  and  cash  receipts. 
.  ,  .  Let  me  ask :  Is  there  not  danger  in  paying  too 
great  commissions."*  It  shows  itself,  of  course,  in  ex- 
penses." 

His  letters  show  that  he  had  peculiar  qualifications 
for  the  business  in  which  he  was  engaged.  "  Dear 
Henry,"  he  writes  in  1863:  "I  send  you  a  splendid 
application  for  $10,000 — C.  C.  Chadwick,  a  retired 
gentleman  of  wealth.  He  has  $10,000  in  the  Mutual 
and  $10,000  in  the  New  England.  I  met  him  this 
morning  as  I  came  down-town.  I  said  to  him :  '  I 
would  like  to  show  you  that  you  cannot  invest  money 
in  a  way  that  is  safer  beyond  a  contingency,  where  it 
will  work  out  so  large  a  result  to  yourself  if  you  reach 
the  age  of  sixty-five,  as  in  an  endowment  policy  of  the 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society.  If  I  establish  that 
fact  I  shall  expect  your  prompt  action  with  reference 


i8  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

to  that  result.'  He  smiled  and  said :  '  Very  well,  I'll 
see.'  I  went  to  his  counting-room  without  delay,  and 
showed  him  what  I  had  proposed  to  show.  He 
promptly  replied :  '  You  may  as  well  make  out  the 
papers.'  "  In  another  letter  he  says:  "  Dear  Henry  : 
I  took  applications  to-day  in  high  quarters  for  $50,000. 
I  send  you  $20,000.  One  State  Street  gentleman, 
Gage,  the  great  ice-shipper,  came  in  saying,  '  I  have 
seen  your  circular ;  I  want  to  inquire  about  it.'  I 
never  saw  him  before.  I  took  his  application  for 
$20,000." 

The  relations  between  father  and  son  were  such  as 
might  exist  between  an  elder  and  a  younger  brother. 
In  a  public  acknowledgment  of  his  father's  services 
the  son  paid  tribute  in  these  words :  "  In  the  begin- 
ning of  our  enterprise  I  constantly  consulted  my  father, 
and  it  was  to  a  large  extent  owing  to  his  advice, 
based  upon  his  great  experience,  that  no  mistakes 
were  made  in  our  early  history." 

During  his  clerkship  with  the  Mutual  Life  young 
Hyde  connected  himself  with  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presby- 
terian Church,  one  of  the  most  prominent  congrega- 
tions in  the  city,  then  occupying  an  edifice  on  the 
corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Nineteenth  Street.  Its 
pastor  was  the  Rev.  James  W.  Alexander,  D.D.,  eldest 
son  of  Professor  Archibald  Alexander  of  Princeton, 
and  here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of 
men  of  substance  and  high  standing,  some  of  whom 


AT   TWENTY-TWO    YEARS    OF    AGE 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  19 

afterwards  became  directors  of  the  Equitable  Society. 
But  with  the  pastor's  son,  James  W.  Alexander,  then  a 
junior  at  Princeton  College,  there  sprang  up  a  friend- 
ship which  increased  in  firmness  with  passing  years. 
In  his  reminiscences  he  says : 

"  Mr.  Hyde,  during  part  of  this  early  interval,  lived 
in  East  Twenty-sixth  Street,  and  for  a  short  time  I, 
being  a  bachelor  in  New  York  without  family  con- 
nections living  there,  became  a  fellow-occupant  of  the 
same  house.  He  was  then  working  night  and  day, 
and  had  nothing  on  his  mind  but  the  Equitable,  un- 
less I  make  the  exception  that  he  became  engaged  to 
be  married,  and  was  married  in  March,  1864,  I  being 
one  of  his  groomsmen  on  that  occasion.  The  fashion 
in  those  days  was  not,  as  it  is  now,  to  have  a  best 
man  and  ushers,  but  simply  to  have  groomsmen  equal  in 
number  to  the  bridesmaids  who  waited  upon  the  bride," 

Mr.  Hyde  is  described  at  that  time  as  being  **tall  in 
stature  and  strong  of  limb,  handsome  in  feature  and 
singularly  bright  in  expression.  His  mouth  was  pecu- 
liarly expressive.  His  eyes,  which  were  dark,  and 
gleamed  from  beneath  heavy  eyebrows,  arrested  in- 
stant attention.  They  were  keen,  alert,  and  it  is 
scarcely  a  figure  of  speech  to  say  that  they  pierced 
like  a  sword."  He  impressed  his  individuality  upon 
the  social  life  around  him,  and  even  at  this  early 
period  he  showed  in  his  daily  walk  and  conversation 
a  peculiar  power  to  charm  and  to  persuade  men. 


CHAPTER   II 

GERMINATION    OF    A    NEW    PROJECT 

And  so  the  young  cashier  of  the  Mutual,  pondering- 
upon  the  questions  suggested  to  his  alert  and  active 
mind,  talked  the  matter  over  with  his  friends.  Most 
of  them  sought  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose;  but, 
nevertheless,  upon  a  memorable  evening,  that  of  Satur- 
day, March  12,  1859,  he  called  upon  Mr.  Frederick 
S.  Winston,  President  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  at  his  residence.  He  stated  to  Mr.  Win- 
ston that  for  some  time  he  had  been  contemplating  the 
organization  of  a  life  assurance  company,  and  desired 
his  advice  and  assistance  in  the  undertaking.  Twenty- 
five  years  later  Mr.  Hyde  related  how  this  proposition 
was  received : 

"The  president  stated  that  he  did  not  approve  of  the 
plan,  and  that  no  one  contemplating  the  organization 
of  another  life  assurance  company  could  retain  a  posi- 
tion with  the  Mutual  Life.  I  thereupon  asked  him  how 
soon  my  resignation  could  be  accepted ;  to  which  he 
replied  that  I  might  resign  at  once,  and  could  call  at 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  21 

the  office  on  Monday  morning  to  deliver  up  the  keys 
of  the  cash  and  securities  in  my  possession,  which 
would  be  examined  by  the  actuaries.  This  action, 
which  was  equivalent  to  a  dismissal,  was  wholly  unex- 
pected by  me.  On  the  following  Monday  morning  I 
called  at  the  office  of  the  company  and  delivered  up 
my  keys.  The  cash  and  securities  having  been  ex- 
amined by  the  actuaries  and  found  correct,  I  said  to 
the  president  that  it  would  be  very  gratifying  to  me  to 
have  a  letter  stating  the  facts  regarding  my  sudden 
and  unexpected  resignation,  and  further  stating  that 
my  cash  and  securities  had  been  found  correct.  This 
was  refused." 

In  commenting  on  this  statement.  President  James 
W.  Alexander  says:  ''It  is  not  to  be  gathered  from 
this  incident  that  hostility  continued  to  exist  through- 
out the  lives  of  these  two  forceful  men.  Mr.  Win- 
ston's method  was  severe,  and  it  was  not  within  the 
limits  of  his  conception  that  this  clerk  could  become 
a  rival.  Indeed,  it  took  some  years  for  him  to  realize 
what  stuff  young  Hyde  was  made  of,  and  he  was 
inclined  to  regard  the  Equitable  Life  in  its  infancy 
as  a  frivolous  interference  with  settled  affairs.  His 
regard  for  the  young  man  personally,  however,  was 
not  extinguished,  and  Mr.  Hyde  himself  ever  re- 
vered Mr.  Winston  as  a  sort  of  Nestor  in  the  craft. 
The  stimulus  of  desire  to  cope  with  the  Mutual  Life 
after  the  abrupt  close  of  his  connection  was  a  powerful 


22  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

element  in  his  after  success;  but  when  the  newer  com- 
pany had  forced  recognition  from  the  older  one,  as  a 
peer,  the  ancient  affection  between  these  two  men  not 
only  revived,  but  was  strengthened,  and  the  friendship 
lasted  until  Mr.  Winston's  death." 

In  order  to  appreciate  fully  the  feelings  which 
rose  in  the  breast  of  young  Hyde  that  Saturday 
evening,  some  forty  years  ago,  the  reader  should, 
for  a  moment,  efface  the  impression  made  by  events 
of  subsequent  years.  Mr.  Hyde  had  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Mutual  Life,  entertaining,  probably, 
hopeful  anticipations  of  a  promising  career  in  its  ser- 
vice ;  and  he  left  it  as  if  he  were  a  discharged  servant. 
That  he  was  surprised  by  the  result  of  his  visit  to  Mr. 
Winston,  his  own  words  indicate ;  indeed,  there  is 
a  tinge  of  sadness  in  them:  "This  action,  which 
was  equivalent  to  a  dismissal,  was  wholly  unex- 
pected by  me." 

Some  men  are  put  to  rout  by  surprises,  others  are 
overwhelmed  by  the  unexpected.  To  men  cast  in  the 
mold  of  heroes,  surprise  stimulates  the  faculties ;  the 
unexpected  presents  opportunities.  And  Henry  B. 
Hyde  was  such  a  man.^ 

Once  free  from  the  duties  of  his  former  position,  his 

1  Miss  Ellen  E.  Hallet,  who  knew  the  intensity  of  his  nature  upon  his 

Mr.    Hyde  as    an     inmate    of    her  life's    work,    and    his    busy    brain 

mother's  house  when  he  was  mak-  seemed    to    know  no   rest.     When 

ing  plans  to  establish  the  Equitable  forced  to  take  a  few  days'  recreation, 

Society,  says:    "He  entered  with  all  one  of  his  favorite  ways  was  to  go 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  23 

quick  mind  discerned  the  path  he  should  follow,  and 
he  decided  to  take  the  first  step  at  once.  "The  same 
day,"  he  writes  some  twenty  years  after,  "  I  rented 
one  room  in  the  rear  of  the  second  story  of  No.  98 
Broadway,  at  the  rate  of  $900  per  annum.  This 
was  immediately  furnished  with  borrowed  furni- 
ture in  anticipation  of  an  order  to  be  given  to  pur- 
chase furniture  when  the  Society  should  be  established. 
In  order  to  make  everything  agreeable  and  cheerful 
for  visitors,  I  purchased  a  box  of  cigars  and  placed 
them  in  a  convenient  position  on  the  mantelpiece.  On 
the  succeeding  Monday  a  sign,  about  thirty  feet  in 
length,  with  the  inscription,  'The  Equitable  Life  As- 
surance Society  of  the  United  States,'  was  placed 
directly  over  the  smaller  sign  of  the  Mutual  Life,  which 
company,  at  that  time,  occupied  the  first  floor  of  the 
same  building.  Our  room  had  lawyers'  offices  on 
either  side  of  it,  and  to  obtain  possession,  a  boy  from 
the  office  on  one  side  and  a  boy  from  the  office  on  the 
other  side  were  given  desk-room  within  our  restricted 
quarters.  More  commodious  and  convenient  offices 
might  have  been  secured  elsewhere,  but  it  was  with 
me  a  sentiment  to  have  the  office  of  the  Society 
above  the  office  of  the  Mutual   Life.      At  this  time 

on  board  a  pilot-boat  and  share  its  whole  life.  .  .  .  He  was  very- 
rough  life  for  a  while.  .  .  .  His  affectionate,  sympathetic,  and  ten- 
love  for  his  mother  was  one  of  his  der-hearted,  as  those  who  knew  his 
most  marked  traits;  her  influence  inner  life  can  testify;  a  loyal  and 
left   a    deep   impression    upon    his  devoted  friend  always." 


24  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

there  was  no  organization,  and  there  had  been  no 
promise  on  the  part  of  any  one  to  unite  with  me  in 
forming  a  new  company." 

In  all  the  years  that  followed,  there  can  be  found  no 
better  indication  of  the  marvelous  characteristics  of  the 
founder  of  the  Equitable  Society  than  this  incident 
shows.  An  unexpected  condition  had  presented  itself, 
and  he  met  it  fairly ;  competition  had  been  invited, 
and  he  challenged  it  openly  by  defying  all  competitors. 
Human  nature  had  to  be  appealed  to,  and  he  placed 
'*a  box  of  cigars  in  a  convenient  place  on  the  mantel- 
piece." But  there  had  to  be  more  than  a  sign  thirty 
feet  in  length,  a  box  of  cigars  in  a  convenient  place, 
and  borrowed  furniture  to  establish  an  institution 
which  must  be  authorized  by  law  before  it  can  engage 
in  the  business  of  assuring  lives. 

At  that  time  a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  had  to  be  raised  and  deposited  with  the  State 
Controller  in  Albany  before  any  life  company  could 
be  formed;  a  charter  and  by-laws  had  to  be  written 
and  a  certificate  of  incorporation  procured.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  young  Hyde  lost  sight  of  the 
facts  that  he  possessed  neither  financial  nor  social  in- 
fluence, and  that  he  was  only  a  young  man  attempting 
to  establish  a  great  business  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
Yet,  such  faith  had  he  in  himself  and  in  his  project 
that  he  set  out  with  a  stout  heart  to  enlist  the  con- 
fidence of  men  of  the  highest  standing  in  the   com- 


THE    society's    FIRST    OFFICE 

No.  98  Broadway 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  25 

munity,  many  of  whom  were  of  mature  years  and 
were  occupying  conspicuous  stations  in  business  life. 
To  William  G.  Lambert,  James  M.  Halsted,  Thomas 
U.  Smith,  William  Walker,  Henry  M.  Alexander, 
Henry  A.  Hurlbut,  Henry  G.  Marquand,  and  others 
he  went,  and  won  for  his  enterprise  their  encourage- 
ment and  support.  So  impressed  were  these  saga- 
cious men  with  the  force,  ability,  and  energy  of  the 
young  man  that  they  became  at  once  actively  inter- 
ested in  his  enterprise. 


CHAPTER   III 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    EQUITABLE    SOCIETY 

Nothing  more  frank,  open,  and  delightful  exists, 
giving  the  details  incidental  to  the  formation  of  a 
great  enterprise,  than  Mr.  Hyde's  informal  report, 
which  he  read  to  the  directors  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Society's  celebration  of  its  twenty-fifth  anniversary.  It 
says :  "  The  first  person  spoken  to  regarding  the 
organization  was  Dr.  Edward  W.  Lambert,  who  in- 
troduced me  to  his  father,  Mr.  William  G.  Lam- 
bert. Dr.  Lambert  informed  me  that  his  father  was 
advised  by  Mr.  Winston  not  to  put  his  money  into 
the  new  enterprise,  as  he  felt  confident  that  within  a 
year  the  managers  would  be  anxious  to  sell  out  to  the 
Mutual  Life.  But,  notwithstanding  this,  Mr.  William 
G.  Lambert  gave  me  great  assistance  by  introducing 
me  to  gentlemen  of  his  acquaintance,  and  by  helping 
me  to  secure  directors  and  obtain  subscriptions.  Dr. 
Lambert  was  promised  the  position  of  physician  of 
the  Society,  and  agreed  to  raise  $25,000  of  the  capital." 
The  difficulty  experienced  in  raising  the  capital  for 

26 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  27 

the  Society  was  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  it  differed 
from  the  capital  of  any  other  class  of  corporations.  It 
would  be  exposed  to  losses,  and  it  was  barred  by  the 
proposed  charter  of  the  Society  from  all  profits  save 
the  legal  rate  of  interest,  namely,  seven  per  cent,  per 
annum.  Mr.  Hyde's  report  says:  "  It  was  proposed  to 
organize  the  Society  on  the  basis  of  paying  legal  in- 
terest upon  the  capital  of  $100,000,  which  was  required 
by  law.  All  profits  were  to  be  divided  among  the 
policy-holders,  so  that  the  Society  should,  in  fact,  be 
a  mutual  company.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  incor- 
porators, held  in  the  offices  of  the  Resolute  Fire 
Insurance  Company  at  No.  19  Nassau  Street  (the 
room  at  No.  98  Broadway  being  too  small),  a  number 
of  the  incorporators,  although  they  had  signed  the 
subscription  paper  agreeing  to  receive  only  seven  per 
cent,  endeavored  to  have  the  interest  raised  to  ten  per 
cent.  The  majority  of  those  present  expressed  them- 
selves in  favor  of  this  change.  After  the  discussion 
had  been  continued  for  about  an  hour,  and  nearly 
every  one  present  had  stated  his  opinion,  the  question 
was  called.  I  then  rose,  and  stated  that  if  this  change 
were  made  the  advantage  of  a  mutual  company  would 
be  greatly  imperiled,  and  that  I  failed  to  see  success 
in  any  other  plan  than  the  one  laid  out.  Happily,  the 
motion  was  lost ;  the  increase  from  seven  to  ten  per 
cent,  was  not  made,  and  those  gentlemen  who,  at  the 
time,  were  most  urgent  for  the  change  congratulated 


28  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

me  afterwards  that  I  had  allowed  no  amount  of  pres- 
sure to  cause  me  to  adopt  a  course  which  I  did  not  see 
my  way  clear  to  carry  out." 

Nothing  is  more  characteristic  of  Mr.  Hyde  than 
the  moderate  manner  in  which  he  states  this  incident 
—  one  that  involved  the  principle  of  absolute  mutual- 
ity. He  relates  it  with  the  easy  grace  of  one  who 
tells  of  an  episode  in  which  he  has  figured  because  it 
is  in  the  history  of  the  Society  rather  than  because 
it  was  a  strong  scene  in  the  drama  of  his  own  life. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  on  that  memorable  day 
the  now  great  Equitable  Society  was  a  company  in 
embryo,  that  the  incorporators  seated  around  the  table 
were  some  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  business  com- 
munity, and  that  the  chief  promoter  of  the  enterprise 
was  but  twenty-five  years  old — the  fact  that  he  sat  for 
"about  an  hour"  listening  to  those  who  were  in  favor 
of  a  plan  that  would  imperil  his  project  becomes  in- 
tensely interesting.  "I  then  rose,"  he  says,  "and 
stated  that  if  this  change  were  made  the  advantage 
of  a  mutual  company  would  be  greatly  imperiled." 
This  is  the  quiet  way  in  which  Mr.  Hyde  relates  the 
incident;  but  Mr.  James  W.  Alexander  testifies  that 
Mr.  Hyde's  utterances  were  even  more  vigorous  than 
he  admitted  in  his  report  of  the  scene ;  that,  in  short, 
he  exclaimed,  as  he  resumed  his  seat :  "  Gentlemen,  I 
have  made  up  my  mind  that  this  company  shall  be  a 
purely  mutual  company,  and  if  this  provision  limiting 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  29 

the  dividends  on  the  capital  to  legal  interest  is  not  put 
into  the  charter,  I  will  take  my  hat  and  walk  out  of 
this  room,  and  shall  have  nothing  further  to  do  with 
the  enterprise."  Twenty-two  members  of  the  original 
board  of  directors  were  in  attendance  at  that  memor- 
able anniversary. 

"  Mr.  Henry  Day,"  continues  Mr.  Hyde,  in  the  re- 
port, "  was  promised  the  position  of  attorney  if  he  could 
raise  $25,000.  Mr.  Day,  however,  refused  to  sign  a 
paper  to  this  effect,  and  was  loath  to  promise  anything, 
but  agreed  to  take  the  position  of  attorney,  and  said  he 
would  do  what  he  could.  After  some  delay,  he  hav- 
ing failed  to  make  any  great  progress,  I  grew  impa- 
tient, and  told  him  that  he  must  agree  to  take  the  sum 
mentioned,  and,  if  necessary,  advance  any  part  of  it 
which  he  could  not  place.  To  this  he  demurred.  I 
then  opened  negotiations  with  Mr.  Davison,  of  Messrs. 
Burrill,  Davison  &  Burrill,  who  positively  agreed  to 
take  $25,000  of  the  capital  if  he  should  be  given  the 
position  of  attorney.  Upon  mentioning  these  negotia- 
tions to  Mr.  Day,  he  gained  fresh  courage,  and,  with 
the  assistance  of  Mr.  Henry  M.  Alexander,  his  share 
of  the  capital  was  obtained.  Dr.  Lambert  carried 
out  his  agreement  to  the  letter.  Although  the  sub- 
scription fell  off  about  $20,000,  the  full  $100,000 
required  by  law  was  finally  raised  and  paid  in,  Mr. 
Henry  G.  Marquand  generously  advancing  temporarily 
$18,000,  as  well  as  the  premium  and  commission  upon 


so 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


the  United  States  government  bonds,  representing  the 
capital  deposited  at  Albany." 

Mr.  Hyde  says:  "I  was  obliged  to  assure  my  life 
in  the  Manhattan  Life  Insurance  Company,  and  to 
assign  the  policy  to  a  prominent  stationer  as  security 
for  the  account-books,  stationery,  etc.,  amounting  to 
about  $3000,  because  of  the  disinclination  of  some  of 
my  associates  to  guarantee  these  expenditures.  I  did 
not  dare  to  draw  upon  my  slender  purse  to  make  at 
once  all  these  payments.  I  did  not  know  how  long 
I  should  be  compelled  to  pay  my  own  expenses,  as 
well  as  the  expenses  of  the  embryo  society." 

The  next  step  involved  the  election  of  directors. 
The  first  board  consisted  of 


Wm.  C.  Alexander, 
H.  M.  Alexander, 
George  T.  Adee, 
John  Auchincloss, 
Benjamin  E.  Bates, 
James  M.  Beebe, 
Thomas  A.  Biddle, 
Robert  Bliss, 
Wm.  T.  Blodgett, 
Henry  V.  Butler, 
Francis  B.  Cooley, 
Wayman  Crow, 
Thomas  A.  Cummins, 
Henry  Day, 
S.  Frothingham,  Jr., 
Henry  J.  Gardner, 
Dudley  S.  Gregory, 


Henry  B.  Hyde, 
James  M.  Halsted, 
E.  J.  Hawley, 
Irad  Hawley, 
Moses  A.  Hoppock, 
Henry  A.  Hurlbut, 
Henry  H.  Hyde, 
J.  L.  Kennedy, 
Edwd.  W.  Lambert, 
Wm.  G.  Lambert, 
Daniel  D.  Lord, 
James  Low, 
B.  F.  Manierre, 
Peter  McMartin, 
E.  Spencer  Miller, 
John  T.  Moore, 
Geo.  D.  Morgan, 
H.  G.  Marquand, 


J.  F.  de  Navarro, 
Geo.  T.  Olyphant, 
S.  H.  Phillips, 
B.  F.  Randolph, 
John  Slade, 
Thos.  U.  Smith, 
S.  R.  Spaulding, 
Geo.  H.  Stuart, 
Henry  S.  Terbell, 
Dwight  Townsend, 
Alanson  Trask, 
William  Walker, 
W.  Whitewright,  Jr., 
Wilmot  Williams, 
Alexander  Young, 
Henry  Young, 
Thos.  S.  Young. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  31 

The  directors  elected  Mr.  William  C.  Alexander 
president,  and  Mr.  Henry  B.  Hyde  vice-president  and 
manager.  '*  It  was  the  original  intention  of  the  incor- 
porators," said  Mr.  Hyde,  "that  I  should  be  the  first 
president  of  the  Society ;  but  Mr.  William  G.  Lam- 
bert called  upon  me  and  stated  that  a  much  better 
organization  had  been  secured  than  in  the  beginning 
he  had  thought  possible,  and  in  view  of  the  character 
of  the  men  who  had  been  brought  into  the  enterprise, 
he  thought  it  would  give  them  and  the  public  greater 
satisfaction  to  have  an  older  man  and  one  better 
known  than  myself  chosen  for  the  presidency.  To 
this  I  consented  upon  condition  that  the  salary  list 
should  not  be  increased,  and  that  the  proposed  presi- 
dent should  receive  half  the  salary  of  $3000  which  had 
been  promised  to  me." 

Mr.  William  C.  Alexander  was  a  son  of  the  Rev. 
Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  of  Princeton,  and  brother 
of  the  Rev.  James  W.  Alexander,  D.D. ;  a  man  of 
mature  years,  of  long  experience  at  the  bar  and  in  the 
Senate  of  New  Jersey,  and  possessed  of  those  qualities 
which  gave  to  the  community  a  high  degree  of  con- 
fidence. He  was  also  a  man  of  affairs.  He  admired 
the  courage,  ability,  and  genius  of  his  young  associate, 
and  whenever,  in  after  years,  hostile  competition  pro- 
voked a  storm  of  criticism,  he  stood  as  a  bulwark 
of  strength  between  the  young  manager  and  the 
business  community.      His    selection    to    fill    the    im- 


32  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

portant  position  of  president  in  the  new  company 
indicates  Mr.  Hyde's  perspicacity ;  for  he  realized 
that  the  advent  of  the  Equitable  Society  would  stimu- 
late the  business  of  life  assurance,  quicken  competition, 
and  provoke  hostility;  he  knew  that  competitors  would 
hurl  jeers  at  the  introduction  of  new  methods,  and 
that  conservative  business  men  would  look  askance 
at  the  Society,  if  it  was  to  be  directed  by  a  man 
who  as  yet  must  plead  guilty  to  the  charge  of  youth. 
Mr.  Alexander  remained  in  office  until  his  death. 

Looking  backward  after  an  experience  of  twenty 
years,  Mr.  Hyde  said :  "It  was  a  most  fortunate  thing 
that  Mr.  William  C.  Alexander  was  chosen  the  first 
president  of  the  Society ;  and  although  he  never  pre- 
tended to  assume  its  active  business  management, 
still,  by  his  great  influence  and  extended  acquaintance 
throughout  the  country,  the  interests  of  the  Society 
were  forwarded  in  various  ways,  to  an  extent  which 
would  not  have  been  possible  under  any  other  circum- 
stances. I  can  truly  say  that  those  early  days  were 
the  happiest  of  my  assurance  life.  The  burden  and 
responsibility  of  conducting  the  business  were  compara- 
tively light,  and  my  relations  and  intercourse  with  the 
president  are  looked  back  upon  by  me  with  the  great- 
est pleasure.  During  the  early  years  of  the  Society, 
the  president  lived  at  the  Washington  Hotel,  No.  i 
Broadway.  I  was  at  the  Society's  office  nearly  every 
night,   and  the   comfort   and   assistance   given  by  the 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  33 

president  to  one  who  was,  to  a  great  extent,  charged 
with  the  business  responsibiUty  of  the  Society,  were  very 
cheering.  I  can  recollect  many  delightful  hours  which 
we  spent  together  at  the  fireside  after  the  business 
of  the  day  was  over,  when  I  listened  to  his  views 
of  the  situation,  which  were  always  of  a  cheerful  char- 
acter. I  know  of  but  two  persons  who  united  with  me 
at  this  time  in  the  belief  that  our  enterprise  would  cer- 
tainly be  a  permanent  success.  My  father,  Mr.  Henry 
H.  Hyde,  was  enthusiastic  from  the  beginning,  being 
the  one  most  familiar  with  my  project ;  but  his  confi- 
dence was  due  in  part  to  parental  affection,  and  was 
not  wholly  founded  upon  impartial  judgment.  The 
other,  who  never  faltered  for  an  instant,  and  over 
whose  mind  no  shadow  ever  rested,  was  the  first 
president  of  the  Society,  who,  captivated  in  the  begin- 
ning by  the  brilliancy  of  our  aims,  was  unshaken  in  the 
belief  that  our  fondest  hopes  would  in  the  end  be 
realized.  My  great  incentive  at  that  time,  which  influ- 
enced me  to  work  day  and  night,  was  to  sustain  their 
opinion  and  justify  them  in  their  belief." 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   DAY   OF  SMALL   THINGS 

From  the  very  inception  of  the  Society,  Mr.  Hyde 
determined  that  its  business  should  be  managed  with 
rigid  economy.  The  rent  of  the  office  was  $900 ;  the 
salaries  of  the  officers  were  small,  as  the  following  list 
shows : 

William  C.  Alexander,  President $1,500 

Henry  B.  Hyde,  Vice-President  and  Manager  .         .         .  1,500 

George  W.  Phillips,  Actuary 1,200 

Edward  P.  Williams,  Secretary  .         .         .         .         .  1,200 

Dr.  Edward  W.  Lambert,  Examitiing  Physician,  was  to  be 
paid  fees  for  examinations  made,  not  to  exceed  $1000 
during  the  first  year. 
Willard  Parker,  Consulting  Physician,  Daniel  Lord,  Counsel, 
and  Henry  Day,  Attortiey,  were  to  be  paid  for  ser- 
vices rendered, 

Mr.  Hyde  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  Board 
of  Directors  a  vast  amount  of  work  which  they  per- 
formed gratuitously.  In  after  years  he  pointed  with 
pride  to  the  fact  that  "  Mr.  Henry  G.  Marquand  ex- 
amined the  real  estate,  on  which  we  made  loans  to  the 

34 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  35 

extent  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  for  which  services  he 
received  no  remuneration,"  and  that  **we  had  no  cleri- 
cal force  at  the  start,  the  actuary  attending  to  all  the 
necessary  duties  of  the  office,  keeping  the  books  and 
answering  correspondence.  One  office  boy,  at  $1.50  a 
week,  and  an  outside  copyist  were  our  only  assistants." 

But  there  were  other  expenses,  which  the  prudent 
manager  bore  himself,  because  the  infant  society 
could  not  carry  all  the  burden.  Many  years  after, 
he  said:  "  Extraordinary  expenses  of  various  kinds 
were  paid  by  me  individually,  both  before  and  after 
the  organization  of  the  Society.  There  was  no  au- 
thority from  the  Board  for  these  expenditures,  but 
they  were  none  the  less  essential  to  the  successful 
organization  of  the  Society  and  the  efficient  prosecu- 
tion of  our  business.  They  would  not  have  been 
justified  if  our  enterprise  had  failed ;  consequently,  in 
advancing  these  sums,  I  assumed  a  personal  risk.  I 
was  not  reimbursed  until  the  Board,  at  the  suggestion 
of  a  special  committee,  directed  the  sum  of  $5000  to 
be  placed  to  my  credit  on  the  books  of  the  Society  as 
compensation,  in  addition  to  the  salary  paid  me  pre- 
viously at  the  rate  of  $1500  a  year.  This  was  three 
and  a  half  years  after  the  Society  had  been  organized." 

It  was  not  until  August,  i860,  that  the  first  clerk, 
James  B.  Loring,  now  registrar  of  the  Society,  was 
employed.  The  second  clerk,  Thomas  D.  Jordan,  now 
controller,  was  not  engaged  until  the  beginning  of  the 


36  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

year  1861.  To-day  there  are  more  than  five  hundred 
persons  who  attend  at  the  office  of  the  Society  for  reg- 
ular duty.  This  number  does  not  include  the  agents  or 
their  clerks,  nor  the  engineers,  watchmen,  and  janitors 
in  charge  of  the  Equitable  Building. 

If  the  work  of  securing  representative  men  for  in- 
corporators, directors,  and  committees,  providing  a 
charter,  by-laws,  and  necessary  documents,  is  con- 
sidered sufficient  work  for  one  man,  it  was  not  enough 
for  Mr.  Hyde.  In  addition  to  all  this  he  sought  agents 
for  the  Society  and  personally  solicited  business  for  it. 
Its  charter  was  obtained  July  26,  1859,  and  its  doors 
were  opened  for  business  on  the  28th  of  the  same 
month.  But  opening  a  door  is  one  thing;  to  have 
somebody  enter  is  quite  another.  To  provide  for  this 
emergency,  Mr.  Hyde  had,  on  the  ist  of  June,  sent 
out  the  following  letter  to  prominent  men  in  the 
community : 

Allow  me  to  ask  your  friendly  cooperation  in  an  enterprise  in  the 
success  of  which  I  am  deeply  interested. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  associated  with  a  number  of  the  most 
respectable  and  responsible  merchants  of  this  and  other  cities,  who 
aim  to  establish  "  The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of  the 
United  States." 

The  preliminaries  of  organization  are  nearly  perfected,  and  it  is 
proposed  to  commence  business  on  or  about  the  first  day  of  July  next. 

It  is  deemed  important  that  the  company  should  enter  upon  its 
career  with  a  reasonable  amount  of  business  secured  to  it,  and  I  have 
assumed  heavy  responsibilities  in  this  direction,  to  meet  which  I  am 
compelled  to  solicit  sympathy  and  assistance  from  my  friends  in  this 
and  other  cities. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  -t^^ 

Organized  upon  principles  purely  mutual,  and  managed  by  gentle- 
men whose  names  must  command  the  public  confidence,  the  new 
company  will  present  unrivaled  inducements  to  insurers,  and  its  poH- 
cies  will  possess  all  the  desirable  features  of  this  favorite  method  of 
accumulating  a  certain  provision  for  those  who  may  otherwise  be  left 
without  help  or  helpers. 

I  ask  you,  therefore,  as  a  personal  friend,  to  authorize  the  issue  of 
a  policy  upon  your  life  for  such  an  amount  as  your  judgment  may 
approve ;  or,  in  case  of  your  being  already  insured  for  the  desired 
amount,  that  you  will  interest  yourself  in  obtaining  one  or  more  appli- 
cations for  insurance  upon  the  annexed  paper,  and  return  to  me  in 
the  inclosed  envelope  by  the  20th  of  June. 

By  prompt  action  in  this  regard  you  will  place  me  under  obliga- 
tions which  I  shall  not  be  slow  to  acknowledge,  and  which  my 
official  position  in  the  company  will  enable  me  fully  to  discharge. 


But  not  satisfied  with  this  appeal  to  the  general  public, 
he  turned  his  plea  to  the  incorporators  and  directors 
of  the  Society.  Speaking  of  this,  he  says:  "At  the 
very  commencement  I  stated  to  the  directors  that 
it  was  important,  above  all  things,  that  the  members 
of  the  Board  should  be  assured.  Many  objected,  on 
the  ground  that  they  did  not  consider  this  essential, 
but  I  explained  that  if  they  showed  any  doubt  re- 
garding the  Society  it  would  influence  outsiders 
unfavorably ;  and  this  truth  became  so  apparent  to 
them  that  the  greater  number  assured  their  lives  in 
the  Society  simply  to  show  their  confidence  in  it. 
Through  the  cordial  cooperation  of  the  directors  in 
thus  assuring  their  own  lives  and  introducing  their 
personal  friends,  our  business  was  successfully  inaugu- 
rated.    The  first  policies  issued,   numbered   i   and  2, 


38 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


were  on  the  life  of  my  father.  We  secured  $433,000 
of  assurance  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Society. 
A  large  part  of  this  I  obtained  myself  in  New  York 
city,  free  of  commissions ;  most  of  the  balance  was  ob- 
tained by  my  father.  Upon  that  portion  a  commission 
on  the  first  year's  premiums  of  only  ten  per  cent,  was 
paid.  During  the  first  year  my  father  wrote  an  ag- 
gregate of  assurance  of  nearly  $500,000  (chiefly  in 
Boston),  upon  which  the  first  year's  commission  was 
only  ten  per  cent." 

On  July  28,  1859,  the  day  on  which  the  Society's 
doors  were  opened,  fourteen  policies,  covering  risks  to 
the  amount  of  $100,500,  were  written.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  the  history  of  this  group  of  policies.  On  the 
Society's  fortieth  anniversary  one  policy  was  still  in 
force,  one  had  been  abandoned,  four  had  been  pur- 
chased by  the  Society,  and  eight  had  matured  as  death 
claims. 

On  December  i,  1859,  the  Society  moved  into  larger 
offices,  in  a  new  building,  at  No.  92  Broadway,  and  on 
December  3 1  its  financial  exhibit  was  as  follows : 


Assurance  in  force    . 

$1,144,000.00 

Assets      .... 

117,102.39 

Income    .... 

.      22,706.94 

Expenses 

9,707.97 

Death  claims  . 

None 

The  conservative  management  which  characterized 
the  early  administration  of  the  Society's  affairs  is  illus- 


Cj^-X:^/^^ 


THE    society's    SECOND    OFFICE 

No.  92  Broadway 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  39 

trated  by  a  statement  embodied  in  the  president's  re- 
port at  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  directors,  held 
in  January,  i860.  It  referred  to  the  lease  of  the 
new  premises  at  a  rental  of  $2500  a  year,  and  to 
the  new  furniture  for  the  officers,  directors,  agents, 
and  clerks.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the 
report : 

"A  committee  was  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Board  to  provide  for  the  furnishing  of  the  new  offices. 
The  season  of  the  year,  causing  the  absence  of  some 
members  of   the  committee  and    the  engagement  of 
others,    rendered    it  impossible    to    provide    frequent 
meetings  of  the  committee,  and  as  the  case  required 
prompt  action,  the  alternative  being  the  occupation  of 
unfurnished  rooms,  the  president   and  vice-president, 
with  the  concurrence  of  a  majority  of  the  committee, 
assumed  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  selecting  and 
contracting  for  the  necessary  furniture.     The  manner 
in  which  this  duty  has  been  performed  will,  it  is  hoped, 
meet  the  approbation  of  the  Board.    The  strictest  econ- 
omy has  been  consulted  so  far  as  was  consistent  with  a 
due   regard    to   elegance,   comfort,   and    convenience. 
The  contractor  agreed  to  furnish  the  counter,  desks 
for  president,  vice-president,   and  secretary,   actuary's 
large  and  small  desks,   physician's  desk,  desk  for  boy, 
and  two  desks  for  agents,  table  for  directors'  room, 
and  desks    and  benches   for  the  hall,  for  the  sum  of 
$980.     This  sum  has  been  increased  by  the  amount  of 


40  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

$70  for  an  additional  partition,  not  included  in  the 
original  contract.  The  work,  so  far  as  it  has  been 
completed,  has  been  thoroughly  satisfactory  and  faith- 
fully done,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  terms  on  which 
it  has  been  performed  are  more  liberal  than  can  be  ob- 
tained from  any  other  person.  The  furniture  used  in 
the  office  formerly  occupied  by  the  Society  has  been 
disposed  of  with  a  moderate  reduction  from  the  original 
cost,  as  compensation  for  its  use  and  wear.  The  car- 
pets for  the  front  office,  the  directors'  room,  and  that 
of  the  physician,  were  procured  of  the  best  quality,  at 
an  expense  of  $234.97,  while  smaller  amounts  have 
been  expended  for  chairs,  gas  fixtures,  shades,  and 
other  necessary  articles.  These  items  of  expense  oc 
curring  only  at  the  commencement  of  the  operations  of 
the  Society,  or  at  long  intervals  afterward,  it  was  con- 
sidered wise  to  procure  everything  of  the  best  and 
most  durable  quality." 

A  glimpse  of  the  daily  work  in  the  office  of  the 
Equitable  Society  in  i860  is  briefly  given  by  Mr. 
James  B.  Loring,  who  was  the  first  clerk.  He  says : 
"The  president  opened  the  letters  and  passed  upon 
the  applications,  handing  them  to  Dr.  Lambert  for  his 
approval.  Mr.  Hyde  prepared  the  canvassing  docu- 
ments, attended  to  all  correspondence,  established  the 
agencies,  made  all  contracts  for  advertising,  and  kept 
things  stirring  generally  —  and  they  stirred.  Mr.  Phil- 
lips kept  the  books.     The  secretary  did  but  little  office 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  41 

work  ;  most  of  his  time  was  spent  in  obtaining  risks. 
When  there  was  much  printed  matter  to  be  posted, 
Mr.  Hyde  would  sometimes  stay  down  at  night  with 
me  and  take  a  hand  in  addressing  the  envelopes.  In 
a  few  months  after  I  became  identified  with  the  So- 
ciety, the  business  increased  so  rapidly  that  Mr.  Hyde 
was  obliged  to  drop  the  correspondence,  giving  it  to 
Mr.  Phillips,  who  passed  the  books  over  to  me." 


CHAPTER  V 


EARLY    TRIUMPHS 


From  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Hyde  hung  up  the  sign 
inscribed  "The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of 
the  United  States,"  he  began  to  put  into  his  plans 
all  the  energy,  vigor,  and  force  that  he  possessed.  "  In 
these  early  years,"  he  said,  "our  path  was  beset  by 
enemies;  no  expedients  were  left  untried  by  them  to 
work  our  ruin.  The  most  violent  detractions  of  the 
Society  and  of  my  own  character,  both  official  and 
private,  were  published  and  circulated.  But  we  were 
most  loyally  supported  by  our  friends  and  directors; 
those  who  were  interested  and  those  who  were  disin- 
terested wished  us  God-speed ;  but,  after  all,  our  fail- 
ure would  have  startled  few,  and  moderate  prosperity 
was  more  than  the  majority  expected." 

This  reference  to  hostile  criticism  is  easily  understood 
when  the  fierce  competition  of  those  days  is  borne  in 
mind.  "  He  crossed  swords,"  writes  Mr.  John  R. 
Hegeman,^  "with  twenty  companies  then  in  existence, 

^  President  of  the  Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company. 
42 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  43 

and  fought  the  fight  later  on  against  seventy  competi- 
tors. He  was  a  just  antagonist,  asking  no  odds  be- 
yond *  fair  play.'  I  never  heard  from  him  a  mean 
word  about  a  rival.  In  his  onslaughts — and  they  were 
mighty  when  he  was  aroused — he  was  n't  satisfied  to 
get  up  early  in  the  morning  for  preparation;  he  always 
got  up  the  day  before.  When  most  men  were  con- 
sidering when  to  begin,  he  had  it  done.  His  feet  were 
always  in  the  stirrups." 

The  Equitable  Society,  from  the  outset,  attracted 
notice  from  the  business  community,  to  which  it 
strongly  appealed,  and  challenged  attention  from  the 
existing  life  assurance  companies,  whose  managers 
saw  in  the  new-comer  the  probable  development  of 
a  formidable  competitor  for  business.  Its  modest 
offices,  small  number  of  officers  and  clerks  at  low 
salaries,  its  commanding  list  of  directors,  the  energy 
and  enthusiasm  of  its  manager,  and  the  declaration, 
as  embodied  in  its  charter,  that  "  the  insurance  busi- 
ness of  the  company  shall  be  conducted  o?i  the  mutual 
plan"  presented  to  the  public  an  unanswerable  argu- 
ment in  behalf  of  patronage.  The  policy-holders 
felt  that  they  had  become  members  of  an  association 
whose  chief  aims  were  to  be  of  mutual  benefit  to  one 
another,  and  to  extend  the  beneficent  influence  of  life 
assurance  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

In  the  beginning  Mr.  Hyde  followed  the  established 
lines  of  action  confirmed  by  the  experience   of  other 


44 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


companies,  hazarding  nothing  of  a  merely  experi- 
mental character.  But  he  was  not  a  man  to  follow 
always  in  the  track  of  others.  His  first  aim  was  to 
make  a  firm  foundation ;  his  second,  to  make  constant 
progress.  He  took  no  step  without  the  most  careful 
thought.  Speaking  of  this,  Mr.  Hegeman  says: 
"  These  things  come  not  of  themselves.  They  are 
wrought  out  patiently  and  painfully.  They  are  the  prod- 
ucts of  deep  thought  and  heroic  action.  Mr.  Hyde 
always  did  his  own  thinking.  He  would  seek  advice, 
and  he  always  followed  what  a  friend  gave  him  —  pro- 
vided he  agreed  with  the  friend !  But,  his  course 
marked  out,  he  hewed  to  the  line ;  he  never  faltered, 
he  never  feared.  I  rarely  knew  a  man  with  more  sub- 
lime faith  in  himself  He  believed  that  convictions 
were  given  to  men  to  abide  by.  All  his  studying  and 
counseling  and  weighing  and  doubting  were  done 
beforehand  ;  then  the  purpose  once  formed  went  on 
to  fruition." 

Scarcely  had  the  Equitable  Society  published  its 
first  financial  statement,  December  31,  1859,  when 
the  portentous  rumblings  which  culminated  in  a  Civil 
War  began  to  disturb  all  financial  centers.  In  the  face 
of  the  threatening  storm  the  young  manager  persisted 
on  his  way,  enlisting  in  the  service  of  the  Society 
two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  agents,  of  which  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  were  located  in  various  States, 
and  forty-five  in  the  State  of  New  York.     When  the 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  45 

year  closed,  $2,641,500  of  assurance  stood  in  force 
upon  the  Society's  books.  In  1861  the  poHtical 
excitement  became  more  and  more  intense.  Six 
States  followed  quickly  the  secession  of  South  Caro- 
lina in  December,  i860;  five  others  seceding  in 
January,  and  one  in  February.  Fort  Sumter  was 
bombarded  in  April.  The  proclamation  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers 
was  answered  by  the  secession  of  the  great  border 
States  of  the  South.  It  was  not  possible  for  the  busi- 
ness of  life  assurance  to  make  great  headway  under 
such  conditions.  Some  of  the  companies  actually  lost 
ground.  Nevertheless,  the  Society  reported  an  increase 
of  assurance  in  1861  of  over  a  million  dollars. 

The  first  five  years  of  any  commercial  industry  are 
sufficiently  laden  with  perils  and  perplexities,  without 
having  added  thereto  all  those  disturbing  elements 
which  follow  in  the  path  of  a  great  political  convulsion. 
Yet  the  Equitable  Society  passed  the  tender  years 
of  its  infancy  in  the  very  shadow  of  the  Civil  War, 
gaining  with  each  year  additional  strength,  so  that, 
when  peace  was  established,  it  indicated  its  prog- 
ress by  the  fact  that  it  had  in  force  upward  of 
twenty-seven  and  a  half  million  dollars  of  assurance,^ 
a  large  accumulation  of  assets,  and  a  substantial  sur- 
plus. It  was  during  this  period  of  national  distress 
and  universal  depression  that  the  indomitable  courage 

1  On  December  31,  1865. 


46  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

of  the  Equitable  Society's  vice-president  and  manager 
shone  in  the  ardor  of  his  tireless  efforts  and  sanguine 
enthusiasm. 

A  story  is  told  illustrative  of  Mr.  Hyde's  invincible 
determination  to  surmount  difficulties.  Many  years 
ago,  when  the  life  companies  were  fiercely  competing 
for  business,  all  the  clerks,  headed  by  the  officers, 
were  engaged  at  midnight  folding  circulars,  filling, 
sealing,  addressing,  and  stamping  envelopes.  Mr. 
Hyde  attached  great  importance  to  mailing  the  cir- 
culars before  morning.  He  was  determined  to  address 
the  public  before  his  competitors.  At  one  o'clock  the 
supply  of  postage-stamps  was  exhausted,  and  the  clerk 
stated  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  procure  more. 
"Impossible?"  cried  Mr.  Hyde,  "impossible?"  When 
the  superintendent,  at  the  other  end  of  the  hall,  knew 
by  the  tones  of  Mr.  Hyde's  voice  that  the  unexpected 
had  happened,  he  approached  his  chief,  who  exclaimed: 
"We  are  out  of  stamps.  Take  a  carriage,  find  the 
postmaster,  and  tell  him  we  must  have  stamps."  He 
went  to  the  postmaster's  house  and  interviewed  that 
astonished  official,  who  directed  him  to  the  residence 
of  the  stamp  clerk.  This  functionary  was  routed  fi-om 
his  bed,  persuaded  to  go  to  the  post-office,  open  his 
safe,  and  deliver  the  stamps.  The  circulars  were 
mailed  before  daybreak. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MANIFESTATIONS    OF   WISDOM    AND   ENERGY 

It  needs  no  mind  of  rare  imaginative  power  to  pic- 
ture the  busy  office  of  the  Equitable  Society,  where  the 
vice-president  was  wiUing  to  "stay  down  at  night" 
to  "take  a  hand  in  addressing  the  envelopes"  because 
during  the  day  he  had  been  busy  "  establishing  agen- 
cies" and  keeping  "things  stirring."  The  effect  of 
this  energy  on  his  associates  is  well  described  by 
William  Harlan  Page,  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Society's 
agents  now  living.  He  says  :  "  We  were  working  in 
three  small  rooms  for  offices.  Mr.  Hyde  impressed 
me  as  a  man  of  most  marvelous  versatility ;  of  wonder- 
ful intuition,  knowledge  of  men,  genius  in  winning 
men  and  handling  them,  and  a  happy  faculty  of  keep- 
ing us  in  a  state  of  splendid  esprit  de  corps,  and  our 
enthusiasm  and  good  feeling  always  at  the  highest 
pitch.  He  had  a  noble  purpose,  to  lay  broad  founda- 
tions for  future  success.  I  well  remember  that  when 
he  rented  two  or  three  rooms  in  the  adjoining  building 
some  of  us  thought  he  was  broadening  out  ahead  of 

47 


48  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

the  business,  but  his  far-sightedness  was  beyond  us  all. 
He  saw  clearly  how  to  move  and  execute,  when  others 
only  had  a  glimpse.  We  could  not  help  but  follow  in 
his  lead  to  the  great  success  we  have  since  attained." 

No  detail,  however  small,  escaped  Mr.  Hyde.  His 
consideration  of  every  point  as  it  came  up  familiarized 
him  with  that  branch  of  the  business  to  which  it 
belonged;  and  the  requirements  and  possibilities  of 
each  and  every  branch  soon  worked  themselves  out 
in  his  vigorous  and  logical  mind.  And  thus  it  may 
be  truly  said  that  he  became,  in  his  own  office,  self- 
educated  in  the  science  and  business  of  life  assurance. 

He  possessed  a  rugged  constitution  and  was  en- 
dowed with  great  physical  strength.  In  energy  few 
men  have  ever  approached  him.  During  the  early  years 
he  thought  nothing  of  taking  a  tour  of  the  United 
States,  working  all  day  long  and  every  day,  and  travel- 
ing every  night.  Mr.  William  Alexander,  the  present 
secretary  of  the  Society,  in  speaking  of  this,  says:  "  I 
have  never  seen  a  man  who  could  work  as  fast  or  as 
hard  as  he.  I  have  never  seen  a  man  who  could  do 
as  much  in  a  given  time.  Not  only  could  he  accom- 
plish more  himself,  but  he  could  get  more  work  out 
of  a  greater  number  of  other  people  at  one  and  the 
same  time  than  any  man  I  have  ever  known.  He 
could  keep  any  number  of  men  busy  from  morning 
till  night,  and  if  need  be  all  night  long,  not  only  those 
directly  under  his  eye,   but  those  also   at  a  distance. 


AT    THIRTY    YEARS    OF    AGE 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  49 

He  had  a  sort  of  omnipresence,  and  what  seemed 
almost  hke  a  hypnotic  influence,  which  kept  his  as- 
sociates and  assistants  at  concert  pitch  as  long  as 
they  were  responsible  for  work  in  which  he  was  inter- 
ested, whether  he  was  present  or  whether  he  was 
absent.  His  hand  moved  with  great  rapidity,  and 
his  thought  flashed  to  the  very  center  of  a  subject 
with  astonishing  swiftness.  Often  when  some  vast 
roll  of  papers,  covering  in  detail  the  particulars  of 
an  important  and  complicated  piece  of  business,  was 
brought  to  him  to  study,  he  seemed  able,  by  a  sort  of 
intuition,  after  glancing  at  a  word  here  and  there, 
instantly  to  become  master  of  the  subject  in  hand. 
To  cope  with  him  in  an  argument  or  a  dispute,  a  man 
had  to  think  quickly.  His  mind  worked  quickly  and 
with  a  sure  instinct.  He  possessed  confidence  born 
of  familiarity  with  his  subject,  a  familiarity  resulting 
from  long  and  careful  preliminary  study  of  the  ques- 
tion. He  had  looked  at  it  from  every  side.  He  had 
thought  of  its  every  possible  phase,  and  was  pre- 
pared for  every  turn  and  ready  for  every  surprise. 
It  was  his  habit  to  concentrate  his  thoughts  for  long 
periods  on  single  problems  before  he  began  to  deal 
with  them.  Nothing  was  too  small  or  too  unim- 
portant if  it  related  in  any  way  to  any  transaction 
of  moment.  Once  his  mind  was  made  up,  he  was 
fearless,  confident,  and  aggressive.  He  pretended  to 
have    great   contempt  for   'genius,'  and  always  con- 


50 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


tended  that  the  only  men  of  genius  were  those  who 
had  the  capacity  to  do  hard  work,  and  who  kept 
everlastingly  at  it.  Nevertheless,  he  knew  in  his 
heart  of  hearts  that  he  himself  was  blessed  with 
genius,  but  in  his  dealings  with  other  men  he  never 
wasted  his  strength  on  what  he  regarded  as  unneces- 
sary labor,  and  knowing  full  well  that  if  a  man  had 
genius  it  would  crop  out,  he  gave  genius  the  go-by ; 
but  knowing  equally  well  that  a  man's  diligence  might 
be  greatly  stimulated  by  precept  and  example,  he 
preached  the  gospel  of  work  day  in  and  day  out.  He 
was  absolutely  devoid  of  all  false  pride,  never  stopping 
to  consider  whether  a  piece  of  work  might  be  regarded 
as  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  president  of  a  great  life 
assurance  company  or  not.  If  he  felt  that  by  under- 
taking it  himself,  instead  of  delegating  it  to  a  sub- 
ordinate, the  Society  would  be  the  gainer,  he  would 
undertake  it.  But  no  one  could  reflect  upon  the  dig- 
nity of  the  Equitable  Society  in  his  presence  with 
impunity.  If  its  fair  fame  were  assailed,  his  righteous 
indignation  was  instantly  aroused,  and  when  his  indig- 
nation was  aroused  his  action  was  swift  and  decisive." 
"  I  attribute  a  great  deal  of  what  business  capacity  I 
have,"  says  President  James  W.  Alexander,  "to  the 
example  and  counsels  of  Mr.  Hyde  through  many 
years.  Very  early  in  my  official  career  he  urged  upon 
me  the  principle  that  I  should  never  do  myself  what  I 
could  get  some  other  man  to  do  as  well.     The  object 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  51 

of  this  was  to  economize  time  for  matters  of  the  great- 
est importance.  That  thought  has  been  useful  to  me 
all  my  life,  and  it  is  one  of  the  elements  of  executive 
ability.  A  favorite  motto  of  his  in  advising  with  me 
about  accomplishing  ends  was,  'A  step  each  day.'  In 
the  conduct  of  large  affairs,  with  embarrassing  and 
complicated  questions  constantly  arising,  the  tempta- 
tion frequently  presents  itself  to  postpone  and  defer. 
Mr.  Hyde's  promptitude  was  one  of  his  best  points. 
When  important  things  were  to  be  done,  he  did  them 
like  lightning,  and  exacted  the  same  sort  of  readiness 
on  the  part  of  his  assistants.  Any  man  who  will  adopt 
this  principle  and  put  it  into  practice  will  accomplish 
many  times  the  work  of  one  who  does  n't  bear  it  in 
mind. 

"The  remarkable  system  by  which  the  officers  of 
the  Equitable  Society  keep  daily  check  on  every  de- 
partment of  its  affairs,  and  know  precisely  what  is 
going  on,  by  means  of  statistical  reports  from  the  va- 
rious departments,  was  invented  by  Mr.  Hyde  and  put 
into  operation  by  him,  and  it  is  now  of  the  greatest 
possible  value  and  requires  little  amendment.  Who- 
ever is  at  the  head  of  the  Equitable  Society  is  able,  by 
means  of  this  machinery,  every  day,  to  know  exactly 
how  faithfully  each  man  in  the  office  and  in  the  field  is 
performing  his  duties,  and  how  the  results  in  all  depart- 
ments stand,  and  thereby  to  criticize,  change,  develop, 
and  otherwise  handle  the  details  of  the  business  so  as 


52  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

to  correct  faults  and  make  improvements,  and  all  this 
with  very  slight  expenditure  of  time  or  trouble." 

Mr.  Gage  E.  Tarbell,  second  vice-president  of  the 
Society,  throws  an  interesting  side-light  on  this 
subject,  which  shows  that  Mr.  Hyde's  motives  were 
complex,  and  that  he  often  killed  two  birds  with  one 
stone.  He  says :  "  Many  of  Mr.  Hyde's  methods 
were  unique,  and  frequently  not  fully  understood  even 
by  those  who  were  close  to  him.  I  never  shall  forget 
how  much  I  was  impressed  at  a  discovery  I  made  soon 
after  I  became  an  officer  of  the  Equitable  Society. 
Mr.  Hyde  had  been  absent  from  the  office  for  some 
time.  Immediately  on  his  return,  he  sent  for  his  prin- 
cipal lieutenants  and  asked  them  to  furnish,  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment,  minute  and  detailed  state- 
ments regarding  the  business  under  their  care.  I 
knew  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  Mr.  Hyde's 
requiring  much  of  the  information  he  had  asked  for; 
and  by  watching  the  situation  carefully  I  learned  that 
his  object  was  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  men 
in  charge  of  the  particular  departments  thoroughly 
understand  their  condition.  He  followed  this  custom 
at  frequent  intervals  all  through  his  life,  and  I  regard 
it  as  one  of  the  shrewdest  things  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  doing  in  connection  with  the  management  of  the 
Society,  for  it  kept  every  one  of  his  responsible  lieuten- 
ants thoroughly  advised  about  his  own  work." 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   QUINQUENNIAL    DIVIDEND 

In  January,  1865,  the  Society  paid  its  first  dividend 
to  policy-holders.  A  large  proportion  of  the  surplus, 
$515,811,  which  had  been  accumulated  up  to  the  close 
of  the  year  1864,  was  thus  distributed.  "I  may 
say  truly,"  said  Mr.  Hyde,  in  reviewing  this  period 
of  the  Society's  history,  "that  we  divided  among  our 
policy-holders  nearly  all  the  surplus  which  had  been 
accumulated  during  the  previous  five  years.  We  thus 
drained  our  coffers,  and  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the 
actual  surplus  remaining  was  not  very  large.  Up  to 
this  time  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  had 
adhered  strictly  to  custom,  and  had  declared  dividends 
to  policy-holders  only  at  intervals  of  five  years.  But 
immediately  after  our  first  dividend  had  been  declared, 
the  Mutual  Life  suddenly  announced  that  in  1866  that 
company  would  begin  to  pay  dividends  annually.  The 
moment  the  first  annual  dividend  of  the  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company  was  actually  declared,  I  announced 
in  the  papers  that  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  So- 

53 


54  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

ciety  would  pay  annual  dividends  on  its  policies,  and 
our  first  annual  dividend  was  declared  February  i, 
1867." 

While  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  had 
been  forging  ahead  of  its  competitors,  other  matters 
of  interest  had  been  occurring.  The  rapidly  increas- 
ing business  had  necessitated  the  extension  of  its 
office  accommodations,  the  enlargement  of  its  clerical 
force,  and  changes  in  its  staff  of  officers.  The  four 
small  rooms  at  No.  92  Broadway  were  soon  found  in- 
adequate, and  additional  space  was  obtained  by  leasing 
floors  in  Nos.  94  and  96  Broadway.  These  rooms  were 
connected  by  a  passage  made  through  the  walls.  It 
is  said  that,  having  leased  the  premises,  Mr.  Hyde 
connected  the  buildings  with  doors,  and  then  asked  the 
seemingly  unnecessary  permission  to  do  so.-^     But  the 

1  "  I  remember  many  things  that  ferent  landlords,  and  one  of  them 
Mr.  Hyde  did  in  the  early  years  of  was  of  such  a  temperament  that 
the  Society,  which  illustrated  his  Mr.  Hyde  had  some  misgivings  as 
hard  business  sense  and  determina-  to  whether  he  could  obtain  consent 
tion.  When  he  saw  a  thing  had  to  make  an  opening  in  the  wall 
to  be  done,  he  generally  made  up  between  the  two  structures.  He 
his  mind  to  do  it,  no  matter  what  cut  the  Gordian  knot  by  bringing 
the  obstacles.  An  instance,  of  no  in  masons  and  making  the  open- 
great  importance  in  itself,  will  illus-  ing  first,  and  then  negotiating  after- 
trate  what  I  mean :  ward.      Of  course,  technically  and 

"  The  Equitable  formerly  had  its  legally,  the  act  was  a  trespass,  but 

offices  at  No.  92  Broadway.     As  its  the  entrance  once  made,  Mr.  Hyde 

business  increased,  it  became  neces-  found  it  quite  easy   to   obtain   the 

sary  to  take  offices  in  the  building  legal  consent,  which  was  given." — 

next  door;    and  it  was  desirable  to  From  a  speech  by  Mr.  James  W. 

connect  these  two  buildings  by  an  Alexander  at  an  agents'  luncheon 

opening.    But  there   were  two  dif-  in  1896. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  55 

new  accommodations  soon  proved  to  be  too  small  for 
the  business,  and  on  December  16,  1865,  the  records 
show  that  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  three 
directors,  Messrs.  Hurlbut,  Lambert,  and  Marquand, 
were  appointed  a  special  committee  to  consider  the 
question  of  erecting  a  building  for  the  use  of  the 
Society.  The  committee  recommended  the  purchase 
of  a  site  and  the  erection  of  a  building.  One  cannot 
escape  the  joyous  and  triumphant  note  sounded  in 
Mr.  Hyde's  comment  upon  this  action.  He  says : 
"  That,  with  assets  at  this  time  of  a  million  and  a 
half,  and  an  income  of  $971,000,  the  Board  should 
have  taken  the  responsibility  of  recommending  the 
erection  of  a  large  building,  shows  their  faith  at  that 
time  in  the  future  progress  and  growth  of  the  Society ; 
but  the  step  was  a  wise  one,  for  we  were  rapidly  out- 
growing the  accommodations  at  our  command,  and 
on  two  occasions  our  office  had  barely  escaped  de- 
struction by  fire;  and,  indeed,  some  of  our  valuable 
books,  papers,  and  documents  were  injured,  and  some 
were  lost."  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  committee 
would  never  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  recom- 
mending the  erection  of  a  building  had  they  not 
possessed  unbounded  confidence  in  Mr.  Hyde.  Their 
faith  in  the  future  was  their  faith  in  him.  But  it  was 
not  until  September  16,  1867,  that  the  purchase  of 
all  the  land  for  the  original  Equitable  Building  was 
consummated. 


56  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

At  that  time  the  office  of  secretary  was  vacant,  and 
Mr.  George  W.  PhilHps,  the  actuary,  was  also  doing 
the  work  of  a  secretary.  But  as  the  business  of  each 
department  increased,  it  was  found  necessary  to  ap- 
point a  permanent  secretary.  The  choice  fell  upon 
Mr.  James  W.  Alexander  (son  of  the  Rev.  James  W. 
Alexander,  D.D.,  and  nephew  of  the  first  president), 
who  abandoned  the  practice  of  law  August  13,  1866, 
to  become  the  secretary  of  the  Society.  He  had  been 
no  stranger  to  its  affairs.  His  connection,  as  it  were, 
began  during  the  summer  of  1859.  "  Before  I  became 
a  senior  at  college,"  said  he,  *'  I  heard  a  great  deal 
about  the  preliminary  work  of  establishing  the  Equita- 
ble Society.  Owing  to  my  intimacy  with  Mr.  Hyde 
and  the  fact  that  my  uncle,  Mr.  William  C.  Alexander, 
was  chosen  to  be  the  first  president  of  the  company,  I 
kept  very  closely  in  touch  with  Mr.  Hyde  and  his  work. 
After  graduation  from  college  in  i860,  I  studied  law  in 
New  York,  became  a  practitioner,  and  continued  active 
in  the  profession  until  I  was  elected  secretary  of  the 
Equitable.  I  mention  this  fact  merely  as  showing 
when  my  organic  connection  with  the  company  began, 
and  to  explain  that  during  the  interval  from  July, 
1859,  until  August,  1866,  my  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Hyde  was  that  of  a  friend,  and  not  of  an  associate 
officer.  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him,  and  a  friendship 
was  formed  which  continued  unbroken,  constantly  in- 
creasing in  firmness  until  Mr.  Hyde's  death. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  57 

**  Nothing  can  obliterate  the  impression  made  upon 
me  as  a  young  man,  after  joining  the  Equitable,  of 
the  tremendous  vigor  and  industry  of  Mr.  Hyde. 
His  mind  was  perhaps  the  most  active  which  I  have 
ever  observed.  I  remember  often  having  heard  the 
first  president  of  the  company  say  that  Mr.  Hyde 
had  a  more  suggestive  mind  than  anybody  he  had 
ever  met.  He  always  took  great  pains  to  be  sure  he 
was  right  in  a  certain  course,  and  then  it  seemed  as 
if  nothing  could  stand  in  his  way.  Neither  friend- 
ships, nor  obstacles,  nor  precedents,  nor  anything  else, 
kept  him  from  accomplishing  his  purpose.  Naturally 
a  man  like  this  sometimes  trod  on  other  people's  toes, 
but  it  was  always  with  him  the  Equitable  first,  and 
personal  friendships  afterwards.  He  had  a  feeling 
about  it  very  much  as  if  it  was  a  sentient  being, 
and  was  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  in  its  behalf. 
Instead  of  being,  as  many  people  imagine  all  cor- 
porate officers  to  be,  one  who  was  disposed  to  use 
the  institution  for  his  own  benefit,  there  have  been 
many  instances  which  have  come  under  my  personal 
observation  when  Mr.  Hyde  has  risked  his  entire 
fortune  for  the  benefit  of  the  concern  which  occu- 
pied so  large  a  place  in  his  heart,  and  I  am  quite  sure 
that  I  do  not  exaggerate  when  I  say  that  I  believe 
that  he  would  have  submitted  to  impoverishment 
rather  than  to  see  disaster  come  to  the  Equitable 
Society." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ONE  OF  THE   MANY   REFORMS  THAT  ORIGINATED 
WITH    MR.  HYDE 

At  the  close  of  its  sixth  year  the  business  of  the  Equita- 
ble Life  Assurance  Society  had  outrun  that  of  all  com- 
peting companies,  excepting  six  of  the  older  ones.  The 
Society,  having  made  advances  greater  than  ever 
before,  was  able  to  report  to  the  New  York  Insurance 
Department  on  December  31,  1865,  $27,507,739  of 
assurance  in  force.  But  a  new  danger  now  appeared. 
It  came  in  the  form  of  Asiatic  cholera,  which  spread  as 
far  West  as  Missouri.  Its  approach  had  been  viewed 
with  apprehension  by  the  managers  of  all  life  assurance 
companies.  Mr.  Hyde  refers  to  it  as  his  "  first  serious 
anxiety."  He  says:  "The  cholera,  of  which  we  had 
heard  rumblings  along  the  horizon  for  a  considerable 
period,  began  to  show  itself  in  our  midst.  Mr.  Phillips, 
the  actuary,  very  prudently  assured  me  that  a  vital 
error  had  been  committed  in  agreeing  to  pay  divi- 
dends annually  to  policy-holders.  He  went  so  far  as 
to  advise  a  retraction  of  our  dividend  announcement. 

58 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  59 

After  a  careful  review  of  the  situation,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  danger  of  retreat  was  greater  than 
that  of  advance,  and  that,  once  having  put  my  hand  to 
the  plow,  I  would  not  turn  back.  I  passed  a  summer 
of  the  greatest  anxiety,  but,  contrary  to  our  fears,  the 
mortality  among  our  policy-holders  was  exceedingly 
light,  falling  considerably  below  our  expectation."  Ex- 
perience has  since  proved  that  a  life  assurance  com- 
pany with  a  large  and  widely  distributed  business  has 
little  to  fear  from  epidemics,  partly  because  the  mor- 
tality does  not  fall  heavily  upon  those  whose  intelli- 
gence and  prudence  prompt  them  to  assure  their  lives, 
and  partly  because  those  who  assure  for  large  amounts 
are  men  of  means,  who  are  usually  able  to  avoid  con- 
tagion by  moving  temporarily  from  infected  regions. 

Probably  it  was  during  this  period  of  anxiety  that 
Mr.  Hyde  came  to  the  conclusion  which  he  afterwards 
expressed  in  these  words:  "Surplus  is  strength." 
During  his  whole  life  he  adhered  to  this  maxim,  build- 
ing the  business  of  the  Society  upon  the  basic  principle 
of  husbanding  its  income  sufficiently  to  enable  it  to 
defy  epidemics,  political  convulsions,  and  economic 
disturbances.  The  problem  which  now  confronted 
Mr.  Hyde,  he  met,  as  Mr.  Hegeman  says,  by  "  study- 
ing and  counseling  and  weighing  and  doubting." 
The  result  was  the  announcement  made  on  December 
31,  1868,  that  a  new  form  of  policy  would  be  issued  by 
the  Society. 


6o  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

At  that  time  the  Equitable's  outstanding  assur- 
ance exceeded  $100,000,000,  and  its  assets  amounted 
to  $7,721,077.  It  was  therefore  in  a  position  to 
inaugurate  successfully  one  of  the  greatest  reforms 
ever  conceived  or  introduced  by  any  life  assurance 
company. 

Under  its  terms  it  was  agreed  with  holders  of 
this  new  policy  that,  in  consideration  of  certain  special 
advantages  to  those  who  maintained  their  policies  in 
force  for  a  stipulated  period,  all  dividends  should  be 
deferred  until  the  completion  of  that  period.  These 
special  advantages  were  in  the  main  twofold :  first, 
that  a  full  share  of  the  surplus  profits  accumulated 
was  to  be  apportioned  by  the  actuaries  of  the  Society 
among  those  who  maintained  their  policies;  and, 
second,  that  the  maintaining  policy-holders  desiring 
to  withdraw  from  the  company  were  to  be  given  the 
entire  reserve  on  their  policies  in  cash. 

Up  to  that  time  no  company  had  ever  dreamed  of 
giving  a  man  during  his  own  lifetime,  upon  the  surrender 
of  a  "life  policy,"  the  entire  reserve  and  a  full  share  of 
the  accumulated  surplus.  This,  the  first  practical  revo- 
lution in  life  assurance  inaugurated  by  the  Equitable 
Society,  is  thus  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Hyde:  "As  soon  as 
we  had  developed  our  plan  we  submitted  it  to  the  Hon. 
William  Barnes,  who  was  then  Superintendent  of  the 
Insurance  Department  of  the  State  of  New  York,  a 
recognized  authority  on  all  actuarial  questions.     The 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  6i 

following  are  extracts  from  a  letter  addressed  by  him, 
on  February  2,  1869,  to  the  Society: 

"  '  The  scheme  seems  to  be  so  natural  and  applicable 
to  certain  classes  of  policy-holders  that,  like  many 
important  discoveries  in  science  and  art,  the  wonder  is 
how  it  could  have  so  long  remained  dormant  and 
undiscovered.  .  .  .  Your  plan,  as  developed  in  the 
pamphlet,  with  perhaps  some  slight  modifications,  con- 
tains within  itself  the  elements  for  the  most  successful 
application  of  the  principle  of  any  yet  elaborated  on 
either  side  of  the  Atlantic.  .  .  .  Your  new  method 
of  dividends  will,  I  think,  prove  to  be  popular  with  our 
people,  as,  while  preserving  the  great  end  of  life  assur- 
ance by  securing  a  large  amount  in  case  of  early  death, 
it  offers  a  release  from  the  payment  of  premiums  dur- 
ing the  advanced  ages  when  enterprise  begins  to  flag 
and  the  resources  and  energies  of  youth  and  middle 
life  begin  to  diminish.  And  if  your  hopes  of  turning 
an  annuity  payable  by  the  policy-holder  to  the  com- 
pany into  one  payable  by  the  company  to  the  policy- 
holder should  be  realized,  you  will  then  produce  a 
pecuniary  result  the  most  acceptable  possible  to  all 
members  of  the  human  family,  of  whatever  age  or 
race. 

As  the  new  policy  appealed  successfully  to  the  public, 
the  number  of  policies  bearing  annual  dividends  was 
greatly  reduced.  Its  influence  was  far-reaching.  The 
older  companies  adopted  the  principle  after  a  time. 


62  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

First  of  these  was  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany, which  had  commenced  business  in  1845;  next 
the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  which  had  com- 
menced business  in  1843,  adopted  it  soon  after  the 
New  York  Life  (although  the  principle  was  tempo- 
rarily abandoned) ;  then  came  the  Northwestern  of 
Wisconsin,  and  ultimately  many  other  companies.  In- 
deed, so  far-reaching  was  the  effect  of  this  beneficent 
reform  that  the  Colonial  Mutual  in  far-away  Australia 
adopted  it  as  its  own.  The  policy  has  gone  through 
many  changes  in  subsequent  years ;  to-day,  developed 
and  liberalized  as  the  Guaranteed  Cash  Value  Policy 
of  the  Equitable  Society,  it  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
contracts  ever  issued  by  any  life  assurance  company. 
It  may  be  noted,  in  passing,  that  the  companies 
that  followed  the  example  of  the  Equitable  Society 
prospered  as  never  before,  while  those  that  opposed 
it  were  left  far  behind.  The  great  bulk  of  all  the  busi- 
ness of  the  regular  life  companies  has  now,  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  been  transacted  on  plans  resembling 
the  system  inaugurated  by  the  Society  in  1868. 

It  is  not  to  be  assumed  from  the  history  given  of 
this  revolution  in  the  practice  of  assurance  that  the 
innovation  met  with  no  opposition.  Adverse  criticisms 
sprang  from  the  hostility  that  is  engendered  by  fierce 
competition.  An  incident  reveals  this  fact,  and  at  the 
same  time  vividly  portrays  a  characteristic  of  the  man 
who  created  an  innovation  which  was  finally  adopted 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  63 

by  the  competitor  who  scouted  it.  Mr.  E.  A.  Spencer 
of  Buffalo,  an  old  representative  of  the  Society,  writes : 
"  Well  do  I  remember  when  the  first  deferred-dividend 
policy  of  the  Society  was  issued.  A  competing  com- 
pany assailed  this  form  of  assurance  through  the  press 
of  the  country  ;  and,  not  satisfied  with  this  mode  of 
warfare,  caused  to  be  printed  a  cartoon  representing  an 
open  umbrella,  the  covering  of  which  hung  in  shreds 
from  its  frame ;  and  underneath  was  written,  *  The 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Company's  Policy.'  This 
was  circulated  and  posted  in  great  numbers  in  store- 
windows  in  the  city  of  Buffalo.  Upon  seeing  them,  I 
procured  a  copy,  and  went  at  once  to  New  York,  and 
showed  it  to  Mr.  Hyde.  He  took  the  cartoon  from 
my  hand  and  said  to  me :  '  Is  this  what  is  being  circu- 
lated ? '  I  said,  '  Yes.'  Then  turning  to  me,  he  said  : 
'  Be  seated,  and  I  don't  want  you  to  leave  this  ofiice  until 
I  return.'  Never  shall  I  forget  the  expression  of  that 
man's  face  when  leaving  the  room ;  and,  upon  his 
return  in  about  thirty  minutes,  he  said  to  me  :  '  Do  you 
know  when  the  first  train  leaves  for  Buffalo  ?  '  I  told 
him  I  did  not  think  there  was  one  before  evening.  He 
said  to  me :  '  I  want  you  to  take  ^Aa^  train,  and,  upon 
reaching  home,  if  you  find  that  these  cartoons  have  not 
been  removed,  telegraph  to  me  at  once.  But,'  said  he, 
*I  think  you  have  seen  the  last  of  them.'  The  cartoon 
I  handed  to  Mr.  Hyde  was  the  last  one  I  ever  saw." 


CHAPTER   IX 

MR.    HYDE'S    INFLUENCE    UPON   AGENTS 

No  work  was  more  important  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Equitable  Society  than  that  of  securing  able  men 
to  represent  it  throughout  the  country.  How  well 
Mr.  Hyde  succeeded  is  best  told  by  those  who  knew 
him  when  he  was  busy  "establishing  agencies,"  in 
building  up  an  agency  system  unrivaled  the  world 
over.  Men  of  force,  men  of  character,  men  of  posi- 
tion, he  sought  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land.  And  he  sought  not  in  vain.  His  theory 
was  that  the  work  of  soliciting  men  to  assure  their 
lives  should  be  the  sole  business  of  the  agent  who 
undertakes  it;  and  that  "agents  must  not  let  grass 
grow  under  their  feet ;  they  must  make  up  their  minds 
to  do  the  bulk  of  their  business  during  the  first  half 
of  every  year ;  they  must  spring  at  it,  and  then  they 
will  feel  happier  later  on." 

Mr.  William  H.  Bridgman,  who  was  one  of  the 
Society's  earliest  agents,  says:  "In  the  summer  of 
1 86 1   Mr.  Hyde  visited  Chicago.     He  called  on  those 

64 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  65 

engaged  in  the  business  of  life  assurance,  among 
whom  I  was  one.  He  made  no  suggestion  to  any 
agent  that  he  should  sever  his  connection  with  the 
company  he  was  serving.  His  purpose  seemed 
rather  to  make  the  Equitable  well  known  in  life 
assurance  circles.  He  spoke  of  the  standing  of  its 
directors,  of  his  hope  that  the  Society  would  become 
worthy  of  the  name  he  had  given  it,  and  of  his  purpose 
to  make  it  all  that  a  company  should  be.  He  was 
remarkably  handsome  and  agreeable,  but  there  was 
nothing  in  his  bright  eye  or  agreeable  manner  to 
indicate  the  force  or  the  varied  talents  with  which  I 
was  to  become  familiar  a  few  months  later.  There 
was  something  about  him,  however,  that  so  awakened 
confidence  in  his  ability  that  I  soon  wrote,  asking  him 
what  inducements  he  was  disposed  to  offer  me  to  join 
the  Equitable.  His  reply  was  characteristic  :  '  Come 
to  New  York  at  once  at  my  expense.' " 

Mr.  Bridgman  resigned  his  position  in  Chicago  and 
came  to  New  York  to  sell  the  policies  of  the  new  com- 
pany. He  began  by  assuring  his  own  life,  and  shortly 
after  entered  upon  a  successful  career  as  a  life  assurance 
writer.  He  says :  "  It  was  not  an  easy  task  for  a 
stranger,  during  the  early  months  of  the  Civil  War,  to 
place  the  policies  of  a  small  company,  with  no  surplus, 
in  the  hands  of  the  people  of  New  York  ;  and  I  am  con- 
fident that  I  would  have  failed  utterly  had  not  Mr.  Hyde 
helped  me  in  the  beginning.     When  he  went  with  me 


66  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

to  see  any  one,  he  used  but  few  words.  He  simply 
filled  in  the  blanks  in  the  application,  and  his  personal 
magnetism  won  the  signature.  There  was  an  inde- 
scribable something  about  him,  too  winning  to  be 
resisted.  Mr.  Hyde  was  a  many-sided  man  even  then. 
He  had  the  courage  that  feared  no  obstacle,  the  force 
to  make  continuous  and  rapid  progress,  the  most  lofty 
ambition,  and  the  hot  blood  of  youth,  and  all  regulated 
by  that  prudence  that  never  permitted  him  to  depart 
from  those  sound  mathematical  principles  that  should 
be  at  the  base,  and  at  every  stage  of  the  building  of  an 
institution  founded  '  not  for  a  day,  but  for  all  time.' 
As  he  began  early  to  revolutionize  the  business  of  life 
assurance,  he  soon  found  competition  enough  to  test 
his  strength.  If  it  were  fair,  he  met  it  heroically.  If 
unfair,  he  fought  it  with  relentless  vigor  until  it  was 
abandoned,  or  rendered  harmless  by  exposure.  He 
never  met  unfair  competition  on  its  own  ground.  I 
mean  by  this  that  he  never  departed  from  sound  busi- 
ness principles  because  some  competitor  had  done  so. 
In  early  days  he  was  not  disposed  to  leave  adverse 
criticism  unnoticed ;  but  after  a  time  he  ceased  to  be 
disturbed  by  the  vaporings  of  the  small,  narrow,  theo- 
retical men  who  were  making  more  effort  to  prevent 
the  growth  of  the  Equitable  than  to  promote  the 
growth  of  the  companies  with  which  they  were  con- 
nected. Great  as  were  his  force  and  courage,  these 
were  not  greater  than  his  will.      He  abhorred  excuses 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  67 

for  failure,   feeling  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
'cannot,'  unless  based  on  physical  impossibility." 

Mr.  Tarbell  says :  "  Probably  nothing  aided  Mr. 
Hyde  more  in  his  successful  career  than  his  ability  to 
secure  and  retain  the  services  of  bright  men  to  help 
him,  coupled  with  his  peculiar  genius  for  handling 
them  so  as  to  make  them  more  and  more  valuable  as 
lieutenants  as  time  went  on.  His  influence  over  men 
was  remarkable,  and  hundreds  were  made  better  men 
by  reason  of  the  impression  which  he  created  in  his 
conversations  with  them.  I  never  shall  forget  the 
first  time  I  ever  met  him  —  I  think  it  was  in  January, 
1886.  I  had  been  for  several  years  a  plodding 
country  agent,  and  never  had  thought  I  amounted  to 
very  much.  I  was  visiting  New  York  as  the  guest  of 
my  good  friend  Mr.  R.  B.  True,  the  Society's  general 
agent  at  Syracuse,  in  whose  employment  I  was  at  that 
time.  Mr.  True  had  invited  me  to  go  to  New  York 
on  account  of  the  large  December  business  I  had  just 
written.  When  he  introduced  me  to  Mr.  Hyde,  he 
told  him  of  the  business  I  had  closed  the  month 
before,  and  I  never  shall  forget  what  he  said.  He 
stepped  up  in  front  of  me,  looked  me  squarely  in  the 
face,  and  bringing  his  hands  down  forcibly  upon  my 
shoulders,  said:  'Tarbell,  you  are  a  great  man.'  I 
never  had  even  thought  myself  a  great  agent,  but  Mr. 
Hyde's  remark  had  such  an  effect  upon  me  that  I  was 
forever  thereafter  a  much  more  capable  and  energetic 


68  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

agent  than  I  had  ever  been  before.  I  speak  of  this 
incident  simply  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  Mr.  Hyde, 
by  a  single  word,  earnestly  spoken,  could  stimulate 
and  influence  a  man's  whole  life.  He  inspired  me 
with  such  confidence  in  him  that  I  always  felt  that 
anything  he  asked  me  to  do  I  could  do.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  asked  me  if  I  would  give  him  from  the 
agency  I  was  managing  three  millions  and  a  half  of 
business  in  a  single  month,  an  amount  much  larger 
than  had  ever  been  produced  in  the  agency  within  a 
similar  period.  The  very  fact  that  he  requested  it 
made  me  feel  that  the  amount  could  be  written,  and 
the  desire  to  please  him  enabled  me  to  send  him  from 
the  agency  under  my  control  five  millions  of  business 
during  the  month,  although  he  had  asked  for  only 
three  and  a  half  millions." 

Mr.  J.  S.  Kendrick,  one  of  the  agents  of  the  Society, 
says  :  "  The  thing  that  always  impressed  me  most  about 
Mr.  Hyde  was  his  wonderful  influence  over  men.  Mr. 
James  M.  Brawner,  who  was  one  of  the  Society's 
earliest  representatives  in  the  West,  had  an  admira- 
tion and  affection  for  him  which  impressed  me  as 
something  wonderful.  Mr.  Hyde  wrote  many  auto- 
graph letters  to  him,  and  seemed  able  to  stir  him  to 
activity  when  nothing  else  could.  Brawner  was  a  man 
of  moods  and  would  not  work  at  all  for  weeks  at  a  time. 
During  one  of  his  spells  of  inactivity,  when  his  business 
was  running  behind,  he  received  a  telegram  reading: 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  69 

'Is  your  name  Brawner?  H.  B.  Hyde.'  The  effect 
was  electrical.  Within  the  next  thirty  days  he  wrote 
$333,500  in  business.  At  that  time,  when  the  limit 
was  $50,000,  and  $10,000  was  considered  a  large  policy, 
this  was  a  great  work. 

"  Mr.  Hyde  was  able  to  make  agents  work  in  the 
face  of  every  obstacle.  He  seemed  to  enjoy  hot  com- 
petition, and  his  influence  over  his  agents  was  so  strong 
that  the  very  fact  that  the  Equitable  Society  was  being 
attacked  by  some  other  company  or  companies  made 
him  work  all  the  harder,  and  he  always  came  out  on  top 
in  the  struggle.  The  boldness  with  which  Mr.  Hyde 
did  things  seemed  to  inspire  his  agents  with  the  belief 
that  nothing  was  impossible." 

One  of  the  chief  causes  of  Mr.  Hyde's  remarkable 
success  with  agents  was  not  only  that  he  impressed 
others  with  the  strength  of  his  own  personality,  but 
he  inspired  them  with  absolute  confidence  in  the 
Society,  in  the  value  of  its  policies,  in  the  soundness 
of  its  management,  and  in  the  justice  of  its  treatment 
of  all  persons  connected  with  it.  When  a  prominent 
agent  of  the  Society  desired  certain  changes  to  be 
made  in  methods  of  business,  and,  in  reply  to  a  letter 
of  disapproval,  persisted  in  urging  the  changes,  Mr. 
Hyde  ended  a  letter,  reviewing  the  whole  subject,  with 
these  words  :  "I  am  very  sorry  to  set  my  judgment 
against  yours  in  this  matter ;  but  in  conducting  the 
affairs  of  so  large  a  company,  I  must  endeavor  to  be 


70 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


just  in  all  my  decisions.  Nothing  would  give  me 
greater  pleasure  than  to  have  you  so  in  unison  with 
my  views  respecting  the  business  that  a  difference  of 
opinion  would  be  impossible."  He  never  requested 
others  to  do  what  he  himself  recognized  to  be  impos- 
sible. If  it  was  difficult  for  agents  to  secure  business 
for  the  youngest  of  all  the  companies,  he  was  ever  ready 
to  demonstrate  that  it  was  not  impossible  to  do  so. 

Mr.  Hyde  proved  himself  to  be  the  leader  of  the 
Equitable  forces  in  the  field.  "He  often  went  out 
canvassing  to  aid  us  in  closing  risks,"  says  Mr.  Page; 
"I  remember,  one  day  in  1865,  taking  him  down  the 
street  to  clinch  a  man  whose  main  argument  to  me  was 
that  he  did  not  believe  in  Mr.  Hyde.  Together  we  soon 
convinced  him  that  he  had  better  not  disbelieve,  and 
closed  him  then  and  there  for  a  good-sized  policy." 

Mr.  Hyde's  personal  interest  in  the  Society  is  illus- 
trated by  an  incident  related  by  Byron  A.  Beal, 
another  veteran  agent,  who  called  upon  him  with  a 
certain  banker.  "  I  wished  him  to  take  our  limit," 
says  Mr.  Beal.  "  I  arranged  to  have  him  call  and  be 
introduced  to  Mr.  Hyde.  Among  other  things,  the 
banker  said:  'Don't  you  think,  Mr.  Hyde,  I  am  taking 
too  much  risk  in  carrying  so  large  an  amount  in  one 
company  ?  '  He  replied  :  '  Why,  sir,  you  do  not  run 
a  millionth  part  of  the  risk  that  I  run.  Should 
anything  happen  to  the  Equitable  Society,  that  would 
be  the  end  of  me.'  " 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  71 

Not  only  did  Mr.  Hyde  prove  the  selling  qualities 
of  the  Equitable  policies  while  accompanying  agents, 
but  he  fostered  among  them  a  healthy  competition. 
"Away  back  in  the  sixties,"  says  Mr.  W.  P.  Halsted 
(at  that  time  an  agent,  now  collector  of  the  Society), 
"  coming  in  out  of  the  cold  one  winter  day  down  at 
the  old  office,  at  No,  92  Broadway,  he  met  me  at  the 
door,  and,  slapping  me  on  the  shoulder,  said :  '  Now, 
here  is  a  chance  for  you  to  win  a  prize  —  a  silver 
pitcher  and  salver.  We're  going  to  put  up  two 
prizes,  and  you  can  certainly  win  one  if  you'll  roll  up 
your  sleeves  and  pitch  in.'  The  magnetism  of  the  man 
made  me  feel  that  the  prize  was  mine  already,  but  I 
replied :  '  Mr.  Hyde,  I  don't  want  a  pitcher.  I  have 
an  old  silver  watch  here,  and  I  need  a  good  time- 
piece, that  I  may  fill  my  engagements  to  the  minute 
with  the  men  I'm  after.'  Quick  as  lightning  he  slapped 
me  again  on  the  shoulder,  and  said :  '  We'll  make  the 
prizes  two  first-class  watches.'  I  was  so  encouraged 
by  his  words  that  I  pitched  in  and  won  one  of  those 
watches  —  a  fine  imported  Swiss  watch,  which  still 
serves  me  faithfully.  Mr.  James  M.  Brawner  of  St. 
Louis  won  the  other  watch." 

It  was  not  by  spurring  men  on  to  greater  achieve- 
ments, by  fanning  their  ambition  in  friendly  contests,  or 
by  appealing  to  them  with  magnetic  speeches  that  Mr. 
Hyde  won  his  strongest  hold  over  his  corps  of  agents. 
It  was  by  showing  them  that  he  was  a  man  who  ap- 


72 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


predated  honest  efforts.  Although  aggressive  and 
forceful  himself,  he  knew  all  men  were  not  so.  Writ- 
ing to  an  agent  who  had  been  entrusted  with  a  peculiar 
and  important  work,  Mr.  Hyde  said :  "  I  know  that 
great  things  are  expected  from  me  because  I  am,  at 
times,  a  kind  of  brag,  and  sometimes  feel  that  I  must 
work  very  hard  to  keep  up  my  reputation.  In  the 
same  way  you,  in  order  to  keep  the  championship, 
must  occasionally  fight  for  it.  Now  the  conflict  comes. 
The  challenge  has  been  thrown  down.  Will  you 
rise  to  the  emergency  ?  " 

Mr.  James  G.  Batterson^  says  that  Mr.  Hyde 
"judged  men  by  their  courage  in  overcoming  difficul- 
ties and  by  successful  performance.  For  excessive 
conservatism  and  timidity  he  had  little  time  or  pa- 
tience. Tender  as  a  woman  in  his  friendships,  the 
charm  of  his  confidence  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  were  near  enough  to  enjoy  its  earnest  ex- 
pression." 

In  his  management  of  agents,  Mr.  Hyde  was  a  re- 
markable man.  Mr.  Whitcomb,  agent  at  Burlington, 
Vermont,  says:  "I  had  been  advised  that  Mr.  Hyde 
would  probably  become  the  foremost  man  in  the  world 
in  the  business  of  life  assurance.  He  said  to  me  that 
if  I  wanted  to  engage  with  a  company  in  which  the 
agent  and  the  policy-holder  were  both  cared  for,  in 
which  there  was  no  'note  humbuggery'  (the  disease 

^  President  of  the  Travelers'  Insurance  Company. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  73 

of  life  assurance  business  at  that  time),  he  could  give 
me  a  situation  that  I  would  afterwards,  when  I  came 
to  know  more  about  it,  be  pleased  to  hold.  I  had  not 
been  with  the  Society  three  months  before  he  came 
to  Burlington  and  outlined  to  me  his  idea  of  the  as- 
surance business.  He  was  a  genius  in  his  way  of  get- 
ting at  the  subject-matter  to  be  considered.  Nothing 
seemed  to  be  able  to  deter  him  from  what  he  thought 
was  right." 

Mr.  Byron  A.  Beal  says :  "  Mr.  Hyde's  quick  and 
unerring  judgment  of  character  was  illustrated  by  the 
way  he  treated  a  certain  agent  who  had  desired  to  hold 
a  contract  with  the  Equitable  Society.  He  was  a  large 
underwriter,  and  Mr.  Hyde  knew  him  and  was  anxious 
to  make  a  contract  with  him.  After  arranging  every 
detail,  a  contract  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  matter  was 
practically  closed ;  but  the  agent,  believing  that  he 
could  secure  figures  just  a  little  better  than  had  been 
agreed  upon,  said  :  '  Now,  Mr.  Hyde,  add  five  per  cent, 
to  that  contract  and  I  will  sign  it'  Quick  as  a  wink, 
he  replied :  '  No,  sir,  you  -cannot  make  aiiy  contract 
with  the  Equitable,'  and  he  never  did." 

Mr.  Hyde  established  and  maintained  the  closest 
relations  with  the  agents  of  the  Society.  From  time 
to  time  he  traveled  into  all  parts  of  the  country  to  visit 
the  agencies  and  inform  himself  about  their  condition. 
In  a  letter  written  from  the  New  Orleans  agency  in 
December,  1870,  he  said:   "I  have  been  so  much  in 


74 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


sleeping-cars  during  the  past  few  weeks  that  I  really 
feel  more  at  home  in  a  Pullman  car  than  in  a  hotel.  Is 
it  not  a  pretty  severe  education  that  brings  a  man  up 
to  this  standard  of  perfection  ?  But  you  know  my 
opinion,  often  expressed,  that  the  business  of  life  in- 
surance has  ceased  to  be  a  business  of  luxury."  In  a 
letter  to  an  agent  who  was  doing  a  large  business,  he 
said :  "  If  you  were  to  ask  what  fault  I  see  in  your 
methods,  I  would  say  that  you  involve  yourself  in  ex- 
penses without  knowing  where  you  are  going  to  get 
the  money  to  pay  for  them."  To  another  who  was 
not  punctual  in  his  remittances  of  money  due,  he 
wrote:  "It  is  easy  to  get  lax  in  money  matters,  and 
when  an  agent  does  get  in  that  way  he  is  of  no  use 
to  me. 

The  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  who  as  a  director 
of  the  Society  was  closely  associated  with  Mr.  Hyde 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  says :  "  He  was  at  his  best 
at  the  dinners  given  to  agents.  He  had  been  a  very 
successful  agent  himself  and  was  in  touch  equally  with 
the  veteran  canvasser  and  the  beginner.     The  amount 

1 "  In  the  old  days,"  says  Mr.  days'  duration.  During  these  ses- 
James  W.  Alexander,  "  when  the  sions  they  told  one  another  their 
time  of  the  chief  officers  was  not  methods  of  succeeding  in  canvass- 
so  much  taken  up  with  adminis-  ing,  and  Mr.  Hyde  would  supple- 
trative  work  as  at  present,  it  was  ment  them  with  his  own  experience, 
one  of  Mr.  Hyde's  favorite  methods  These  conventions  were  of  vast  use 
of  improving  the  business  to  get  in  those  days,  and  always  wound  up 
all  the  general  agents  and  mana-  with  a  feast,  at  which  the  loyalty 
gers  in  the  country  together  in  New  and  Equitable  spirit  of  the  men  were 
York    for    conventions    of    several  excited  to  the  highest  pitch." 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  75 

of  encouragement  and  hope  he  would  convey,  and  the 
methods  of  securing  poHcies  which  he  would  suggest, 
transformed  many  discouraged  men  into  able  agents. 
He  had  the  faculty  of  inspiring  Equitable  agents  with 
a  passionate  faith  in  the  company,  and  an  enthusiasm 
for  its  triumphant  progress  which  a  soldier  has  for  the 
flag  under  which  he  fights." 

He  not  only  visited  the  agencies,  instructed  and 
and  encouraged  workers  in  the  field  by  personal  in- 
terviews and  electrifying  speeches  when  they  assem- 
bled to  meet  him,  but  he  originated  the  system  of 
periodically  sending  to  the  agents  letters  informing  them 
of  the  position  attained  by  the  business  of  the  Society, 
and  stimulating  them  to  renewed  efforts  in  their  work. 
Most  of  these  circulars  were  the  outcome  of  long 
thought  and  patient  labor. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  the  master  of  a  terse,  forcible  literary 
style,  and  he  insisted  that  not  only  the  most  important 
publications  of  the  Society,  but  every  canvassing  docu- 
ment and  every  letter,  should  be  accurate  in  its  state- 
ments, carefully  expressed,  and  dignified  in  tone.^  Mr. 
William  Alexander,  the  secretary,  says:  ''Nothing  was 
more  characteristic  of  Mr.  Hyde  than  the  unwritten  law 
established  by  him  that  for  all  literary  work  done  for 
the  Society  the  highest  possible  standard  should  be 

1  In    a    letter   written    from    the  blues.     I  shall  now  give   my  time 

South,  in  January,  1871,  in  refer-  to  this  department.  You  will   see 

ence  to  certain  documents,  he  said :  a    change,    or    my  name    is    not 

"  They  are  enough  to  give  one  the  Hyde." 


76  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

fixed.  He  was  intolerant  of  a  careless  or  slipshod 
style.  His  own  style  was  terse,  direct,  and  vigorous ; 
and  as  he  seldom  wrote  with  his  own  hand,  usually 
dictating  hastily,  he  never  allowed  anything  of  impor- 
tance to  go  out  over  his  signature  which  had  not 
been  carefully  revised  by  himself  and  by  at  least  one 
other  person.  Often,  after  asking  me  to  criticize  what 
he  had  written,  he  would  pass  the  composition  on  to 
some  one  else,  and  if  a  single  flaw  were  then  discov- 
ered he  would  not  hesitate  to  indicate  his  displeasure. 
Anything  that  was  flippant,  or  obscure,  or  in  question- 
able taste,  he  regarded  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  the 
great  business  in  which  we  were  engaged.  In  cor- 
recting a  proof,  he  worked  with  great  rapidity,  cutting 
and  carving  the  'copy,'  and  covering  the  page  with 
hastily  scrawled  directions,  until  those  who  were  called 
upon  to  decipher  his  hieroglyphics  and  to  execute  his 
instructions  were  often  at  their  wits'  end.  But  he 
would  never  himself  look  at  anything  but  a  clean 
proof,  and  would  never  read  a  letter  or  a  printed 
document  prepared  in  the  office  in  which  there  was  a 
single  correction  or  interlineation." 

Many  extracts  have  been  made  from  Mr.  Hyde's  cir- 
culars to  agents,  and  these  have  passed  not  only 
from  one  agency  to  another,  but  from  one  line  of  busi- 
ness to  another.  They  have  been  printed  and  circu- 
lated in  various  forms  and  at  various  times  as  maxims 
and  truths  to  serve  as  a  stimulus  to  energy  and  as  a 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  ^^ 

mental  tonic.  Nothing,  perhaps,  is  more  indicative  of 
Mr.  Hyde's  wondrous  force  and  energy  than  these 
circular  letters  sent  from  time  to  time  to  the  agents 
of  the  Society.^ 

President  James  W.  Alexander,  in  recalling  Mr. 
Hyde's  labors  as  a  field-worker,  says :  "  When  the 
Equitable  Society  started,  Mr.  Hyde  took  off  his  coat, 
went  into  the  field  with  Dr.  Edward  W.  Lambert,  who 
was  then,  as  he  is  now,  chief  medical  examiner  of  the 
company,  and  canvassed  for  risks  himself,  and  almost  up 
to  the  last  of  his  life  he  was  ready,  when  an  agent  found 
it  impossible  to  close  with  an  applicant,  to  put  on  his 
hat  and  go  out  and  help  him  do  it,  and  the  instance 
was  rare  when  he  did  not  succeed.  His  personality 
in  his  intercourse  with  business  men  was  magnetic  ;  he 
had  an  eye  like  an  eagle's,  and  when  he  talked  to  the 
man  opposite  to  him,  he  looked  him  through  and 
through,  and  it  was  only  here  and  there  that  the 
person  to  whom  he  addressed  himself  was  not  brought 
absolutely  within  the  power  of  his  influence.  Mr. 
Hyde  always  claimed  that  one  of  the  chief  elements  of 
success  in  an  agent  was  the  ability  to  enforce  his  will 
on  the  mind  of  the  man  with  whom  he  might  be  dealing." 

In  those  days  his  labors  were  incessant.  Not  sat- 
isfied with  the  reports  from  this  or  that  section  of  the 
country,  believing  that  this  manager  or  that  needed 
"stirring,"  he  boarded  the  train  and   appeared  at  the 

1  See  Appendix,  page  213. 


78  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

agency  which  was  in  default  of  the  proper  amount  of 
business.  Life  assurance  to  him  was  more  than  a 
business  ;  it  was  a  faith,  a  cult.  Dominated  by  it  him- 
self, he  speedily  imbued  others  with  its  spirit.  An 
enthusiast  himself,  he  converted  his  associates  into 
enthusiasts.  He  maintained  that  the  Equitable  Life 
Assurance  Society  was,  of  all  the  companies,  the 
"  agents'  company,"  and  he  so  conducted  its  affairs 
as  to  make  this  no  idle  boast.  In  him  the  agents 
recognized  their  leader,  one  who  had  no  equal  in  the 
Society's  agency  work.  They  listened  to  his  speeches 
at  convention  or  banquet  with  the  interest  that  an  en- 
thusiastic pupil  gives  to  the  eloquent  instructor. 


CHAPTER   X 


CARE   AND    CONSERVATISM 


One  of  Mr.  Hyde's  chief  characteristics  was  caution. 
He  never  departed  from  safe  and  conservative  Hnes. 
Innovations  in  estabHshed  methods  of  business  were 
not  made  until  he  had  convinced  himself  that  circum- 
stances justified  the  step  he  was  resolved  to  take,  and 
that  he  was  prepared  to  maintain  the  new  position. 

In  this  particular  Mr.  Alexander  says  :  "  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  with  all  the  ambition,  zeal,  pressure,  and 
even  innovations,"  put  into  the  early  development  of  the 
Equitable  Society,  "  Mr.  Hyde  never  for  one  instant 
allowed  himself,  or  those  under  his  direction,  to  swerve 
one  hair's  breadth  from  those  great  principles  which  are 
the  fundamental  basis  of  our  scientific  business. 

"  For  example  :  He  insisted  from  the  start  that  the 
business  should  be  transacted  on  a  cash  basis.  In 
those  days  a  large  number  of  companies  took  from 
policy-holders  a  portion  of  the  premium,  say  forty  or 
fifty  per  cent,  in  a  promissory  note.  This  note  was  a 
charge  against  the  policy,  and  it  was  generally  repre- 

79 


8o  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

sented  by  agents  for  those  companies  that  the  divi- 
dends would  offset  the  notes.  But  as  interest  was 
charged  up  against  the  notes,  and  the  dividends  did 
not  amount  to  enough  to  offset  them,  great  dis- 
satisfaction among  policy-holders  ensued,  and  sacri- 
fices and  lapses  and  disorganization  were  the  result. 
Before  these  chickens  came  home  to  roost,  Mr.  Hyde 
saw  the  folly  of  the  plan,  and  insisted  that  the  business 
of  the  Equitable  Society  should  be  transacted  in  cash, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  for  a  new  company,  commencing 
business  in  the  face  of  so  many  obstacles  and  against 
such  odds,  a  much  greater  business  could  have  been  done 
on  the  note  plan.  It  is  a  great  tribute  to  his  wise 
foresight  that  the  note  plan  was  generally  abandoned." 
Mr.  Hyde's  conservatism  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
care  and  caution  with  which  he  fixed  the  limitation 
of  risks.  When  the  Equitable  Society  commenced 
business  the  maximum  sum  on  a  single  risk  taken 
by  the  Mutual  Life  was  $10,000.  To  meet  compe- 
tition Mr.  Hyde  fixed  the  Equitable's  limit  at  $10,000, 
but  he  took  care  to  reassure  in  other  companies  the 
excess  of  one  half  of  that  amount.  In  December,  1861, 
he  was  convinced  that  the  Society  could  safely  assume 
the  whole  risk  of  $10,000  on  a  single  life  ;  and  five 
years  later,  in  December,  1866,  he  led  all  other  life 
assurance  companies  by  extending  the  limit  to  $25,- 
000.  Two  years  later  he  advanced  the  risk  to 
$50,000.  None  of  these  changes  were  made  with- 
out the  advice  of  the  officers,  including  always  Mr 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  8i 

George  W.  Phillips,  the  actuary,  and  Dr.  Edward  W. 
Lambert,  the  medical  director. 

Mr.  Hyde's  ambition  was  to  see  the  Society  write 
a  policy  for  $100,000.  For  this  he  waited  fifteen  years. 
Referring  to  the  matter  in  1885,  after  reviewing  the 
situation,  he  says  :  "  It  is  not  too  sweeping  an  assertion 
to  say  that  this  Society  has  uniformly  combined  the 
greatest  degree  of  caution  in  the  selection  of  risks 
with  the  most  progressive  policy  in  regard  to  the  limit 
of  the  risk  on  each  life,  as  soon  as  an  increase  in 
such  limit  has  been  justified  by  the  magnitude  of  its 
operations.  It  has  always,  since  passing  the  limit 
of  $10,000,  been  in  advance  in  this  respect,  and 
has  been  followed  by  the  other  great  companies. 
At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  held  Decem- 
ber 18,  1883,  a  written  statement  submitted  by  the 
officers  to  the  committee  on  insurance,  showing  the 
expediency  of  extending  the  limit  on  single  lives  to 
$100,000,  was  read  to  the  Board.  The  Society's  se- 
nior medical  director  made  a  brief  explanation  of  the 
precautions  taken  by  the  Society  in  accepting  large 
risks,  whereupon  it  was  unanimously  resolved  that 
the  action  of  the  committee  be  approved  and  that  the 
limit  be  extended  to  $100,000."-^ 

"When  I  undertook  the  management  of  the  medical 
department,"  said  Dr.  Lambert,  "  I  shall  never  forget 
the  advice  Mr.   Hyde  gave  me.     It  was  simply  this  : 

1  With  the  extension  of  the  Society's  business  the  Hmit  has 
since  been  raised  to  $250,000. 


82  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

'  I  shall  bring-  you  business  ;  it  is  your  duty  to  make 
a  proper  selection  and  only  take  the  best  risks.' " 

Years  afterwards  Dr.  Lambert  said:  "When  I  look 
back  over  an  experience  of  forty  years,  I  fail  to  find 
a  single  instance  when  Mr.  Hyde  even  hinted  at 
making  an  exception  in  favor  of  an  applicant.  How 
often  agents  went  to  him  and  bitterly  scored  the  medi- 
cal department!  They  would  advocate  the  health 
and  eligibility  of  their  applicants.  Mr.  Hyde  would 
look  at  them  with  his  great,  searching  eyes,  and 
ask :  '  What  does  Lambert  say  ?  Does  he  say  no  ? 
Well,  you  know  I  can't  do  anything  with  Lambert.' 
That  is  the  way  he  had  of  closing  the  argument." 

Dr.  Lambert's  statement  is  confirmed  by  President 
Alexander  in  these  words  :  "  It  might  have  been 
thought  natural  that  a  man  building  up  a  new  enter- 
prise in  life  assurance  would  have  been  disposed  to 
be  lenient  in  regard  to  the  acceptance  of  risks.  Not 
so  Mr.  Hyde.  From  the  very  beginning  his  tre- 
mendous influence  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  medi- 
cal officers  and  examiners  of  the  Society  rigidly  to 
reject  doubtful  risks  and  to  give  the  Society  always 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  No  instance  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  Society  can  be  adduced  in  which  Mr. 
Hyde  ever  tried  to  get  the  medical  directors  to  pass 
a  risk  about  which  there  had  been  any  question ;  on 
the  contrary,  they  had  constantly  been  under  a  pres- 
sure from  him  to  reject  in  all  such  cases." 


AT    THIRTY-EIGHT    YEARS    OF    AGE 


CHAPTER  XI 

RAPID    GROWTH    OF    THE    SOCIETY    UNDER 
MR.    HYDE'S    VIGOROUS    MANAGEMENT 

When  the  Society  was  in  its  infancy  Mr.  Hyde  car- 
ried the  whole  institution  easily  on  his  own  shoulders. 
He  arranged  the  work  of  every  department,  was  famil- 
iar with  the  details  of  every  branch  of  the  business, 
and  originated  every  plan  for  its  enlargement.  With 
his  increasing  knowledge,  experience,  and  strength, 
these  labors  were  comparatively  easy. 

When  it  became  impossible  for  him  to  watch  the  de- 
tails of  every  department  of  the  business,  he  made  it 
a  practice  to  investigate  each  thoroughly ;  studying 
all  its  ramifications,  scrutinizing  expenditures,  noting 
results,  and  turning  the  search-light  of  his  keen  intel- 
lect upon  the  methods  of  management  by  its  superin- 
tendent. He  kept  the  heads  of  the  different  depart- 
ments busy  preparing  reports  and  tabulating  statements 
of  work  in  hand  ;  and  these,  after  a  careful  scrutiny,  he 
placed  on  file  for  future  reference.  He  received  daily 
reports  from  all  the  important  branches,  and  was  thus 

83 


84  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

constantly  informed  of  the  amount  of  business  trans- 
acted ;  the  amount  lost  or  rejected ;  the  number  and 
amount  of  death  claims  presented;  the  receipts  and  ex- 
penditures ;  the  invested  funds ;  the  profits  and  losses  ; 
and  the  achievements  of  various  agents.  He  read  all 
the  papers,  including  insurance  journals.  He  studied 
the  management  of  all  other  companies.  From  day 
to  day  he  made  himself  familiar  with  the  financial 
situation  of  the  country.  He  gave  the  closest  atten- 
tion to  the  condition  of  the  Society's  buildings  and 
the  rentals  from  tenants.  When  business  flagged,  he 
was  fertile  in  resources  for  stimulating  it,  and  was  al- 
ways satisfied  with  a  report  of  progress,  but  never 
with  a  statement  that  what  he  wanted  could  not  be 
begun  until  something  else  had  been  finished.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  was  never  annoyed  at  being  prodded 
about  any  work  he  himself  had  undertaken  to  do ; 
in  fact,  he  expressed  contrition  if  any  delay  was  ever 
proved  against  him. 

There  are  many  men  who,  when  they  find  that  they 
have  missed  the  direct  road,  turn  back.  He  never  did. 
Pressing  forward,  his  indomitable  energy  carried  him 
over  every  obstacle,  and  even  when  forced  to  cut  a 
path  through  an  almost  impenetrable  forest  of  difficul- 
ties, he  seldom  failed  to  reach  the  end  of  the  journey 
in  advance  of  those  who  had  started  as  soon  as  he,  and 
had  come  by  some  other  way. 

During  the  four  years  of  the  Civil  War,  as  we  have 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  85 

seen,  the  Equitable  Society  progressed  steadily.  When 
peace  was  restored,  a  thousand  industries  sprang  into 
existence,  the  hum  of  commerce  filled  the  united  na- 
tion, and  the  Society  was  ready  to  meet  the  fortunes  of 
the  future.  It  had  outrun  in  volume  of  business  four- 
teen of  its  older  competitors,  and  had  left  far  behind 
every  company  incorporated  subsequent  to  its  own 
organization.  The  directors  held  their  fifth  annual 
meeting  on  January  11,  1865,  and  the  following  ex- 
tracts are  taken  from  the  president's  report,  read  at 
that  meeting: 

"  In  inaugurating  the  business  of  this  Society,  in 
entering  upon  a  new  and  untried  field  of  enterprise, 
we  followed,  for  a  time,  in  the  beaten  track  of  those 
who  had  preceded  us  in  this  path,  and  were  safely 
borne  along  on  the  full  tide  of  successful  experiment. 

**  Forms,  customs,  principles,  habits,  were  all  bor- 
rowed. It  became  us  to  be  wary,  and  not  wreck  our 
bark  in  the  very  outset  of  its  career  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  novelties,  however  specious  they  might  appear. 

"Time  and  experience,  and  increasing  knowledge 
of  the  business,  derived  from  its  daily  and  practical 
pursuit,  brought  us  to  a  conviction,  impossible  to  re- 
sist, that  life  assurance,  as  a  science,  should  no  more 
remain  stationary  than  any  other  branch  of  science ; 
that,  like  all  other  branches,  it  was  capable  of  develop- 
ment and  improvement ;  that  in  order  to  be  successful, 
or  even  to  hold  its  own,  it  must  be  progressive  in  pro- 


86  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

portion  to  the  demands  and  exactions  of  this  progres- 
sive age.  Guided  by  the  experience  of  the  past,  and 
judging  so  far  as  we  might  of  the  probable  future  by  a 
calm  and  anxious  survey  of  the  field  before  us,  we 
have,  from  time  to  time,  deviated  from  the  old  track 
and  struck  out  new  paths,  our  course  at  times  proving 
startling  to  those  who  clung  with  obduracy  to  old 
habits,  forms,   and  opinions. 

"  In  every  case  where  we  have  thus  acted,  the  result 
has  been  eminently  successful,  as  exhibited  in  a  com- 
parison of  our  condition  with  that  of  other  companies 
of  equal  or  much  longer  standing. 

"The  aspect  of  the  age  has  changed  since  we  came 
upon  the  field :  new  methods  of  conducting  business 
have  been  introduced ;  new  methods  of  thought  have 
been  developed;  and  to  all  these  changes  must  the 
mode  of  business  be  adapted  in  order  to  be  successful. 

"To  remain  stationary,  to  adhere  blindly  to  old 
dogmas,  except  when  founded  on  the  certainty  of 
mathematical  science,  would  be  as  irrational  as  to 
require  the  full-grown  man  to  wear  the  habiliments 
in  which  he  had  been  clad  in  infancy;  still,  we  would 
deprecate  all  violent  innovations,  and  any  change  not 
founded  on  full  examination  and  deliberate  conviction." 


CHAPTER  XII 

A   TIDE   WHICH,  TAKEN    AT   THE   FLOOD, 
LED    ON    TO  FORTUNE 

In  tracing  the  Society's  advances  along  certain  chan- 
nels we  have  outrun  the  narrative,  and  must  again 
revert  to  the  conditions  prevailing  at  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,  when  an  era  of  commercial  and  industrial 
activity  unprecedented  in  the  chronicles  of  the  nation 
began.  In  sympathy  with  the  general  financial  pros- 
perity which  then-  prevailed,  the  business  of  life  assur- 
ance made  great  strides  forward ;  and  then  it  was 
that  the  youthful  manager  of  the  Equitable  Society 
began  to  penetrate  with  prophetic  vision  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  future,  and  to  prepare  in  advance  the  plans 
and  methods  by  which  his  company  should  be  bene- 
fited by  the  new  industrial  conditions.  Far-sightedness 
was  one  of  Mr.  Hyde's  strong  characteristics ;  desire, 
ambition,  hope,  never  clouded  his  perceptions.  The 
problem,  What  has  the  future  in  store?  appeared  to 
him  easy  of  solution.  He  had  seen  the  war  coming,  and 
had  acted  with  caution ;  he  now  saw  peace  and  pros- 

87 


88  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

perity  coming,  and  he  lifted  the  brakes  from  the  wheels 
of  his  enterprise.  Yet,  in  reaching  out  for  business  he 
never  departed  from  cautious  and  conservative  meth- 
ods. Leaving  his  competitors  behind,  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  leading  the  Equitable  Society  across  the 
line  of  one  hundred  millions  of  assurance,  having 
used  no  unsound  plan  to  obtain  business,  no  dangerous 
scheme  to  attract  public  attention.  It  was  his  ambi- 
tion to  be  first  in  the  race,  but  first  with  honor.  Integ- 
rity was  his  rule  of  conduct.  No  contract  was  made 
with  policy-holder  or  agent,  no  statements  were  com- 
piled or  published,  that  could  not  be  viewed  and  scru- 
tinized and  found  flawless  by  the  standard  of  integrity. 
He  was  the  first  to  carry  the  business  across  the 
ocean.  He  recognized  it  to  be  a  great  advantage  to  the 
members  of  a  life  assurance  company  to  have  its  risks 
extend  over  a  wide  area,  thereby  securing  broad  aver- 
ages and  reducing  to  a  minimum  eccentricities  in  mor- 
tality among  its  members  which  might  result  from 
wars,  or  epidemics,  or  local  variations  from  normal 
conditions.  The  Equitable  Society  began  to  write 
policies  in  England  in  1869,  in  France  in  1870,  in  Ger- 
many in  1 87 1.  Since  then  the  Society  has  established 
branch  offices  in  the  chief  cities  of  other  countries.  In- 
deed, it  is  doing  business  in  all  important  sections  of 
the  civilized  world ;  and  wherever  a  special  risk  is  as- 
sumed an  adequate  extra  charge  is  made,  thus  main- 
taining the    equities   between    members    of    different 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  89 

classes — a  consideration  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
a  company  whose  business  is  conducted  on  the  mutual 
plan. 

Mr.  Hyde  took  great  pride  in  the  fact  that  the 
'Society  was  able  to  compete  successfully  with  the 
companies  of  other  countries.  In  Great  Britain,  for 
example,  it  transacted  from  the  beginning  a  large  and 
valuable  business  in  competition  with  a  great  number 
of  British  companies,  many  of  which  were  more  than 
a  century  old,  and  several  of  which  have  been  in  exis- 
tence for  nearly  two  centuries.  He  claimed  that  the 
Equitable  Society  was  selected  by  residents  of  distant 
lands  in  preference  to  their  home  companies  because  of 
the  sterling  character  of  its  management;  that  in  Great 
Britain  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe  those  who  as- 
sured were  more  steadfast,  on  the  average,  than  Amer- 
ican assurants.  Such  business  was,  he  believed,  a 
valuable  acquisition,  and  of  a  distinct  advantage  to  the 
policy-holders  of  the  Society.  In  accordance  with  this 
theory,  the  Society  now  carries  on  a  flourishing  busi- 
ness in  Australia,  and  has  for  years  transacted  in 
Canada  a  very  large  business  in  direct  competition 
with  the  Canadian  companies. 

It  was  stated  at  the  outset,  at  the  time  when  Mr. 
Hyde  was  a  clerk  in  the  Mutual  Life,  that  he  fre- 
quently talked  with  his  father  and  other  agents  about 
assurance  policies,  that  he  deduced  from  their  expe- 
rience what  buyers  of  assurance  sought,  and  that  he 


go  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

appreciated  the  relationship  existing  between  the 
buyer  and  the  seller  of  assurance.  The  knowledge 
thus  acquired  influenced  him  ever  afterwards  in  his 
efforts  to  cause  the  interests  of  policy-holders  to  be 
zealously  guarded,  advanced,  and  solidified.  Every 
step  in  his  forty  years  of  management  is  conspicuous 
for  his  work  in  that  direction.  So  great  was  the  care 
taken  in  the  selection  of  risks,  that  in  February,  1875, 
the  president,  in  referring  to  the  early  policies,  said  : 

"  I  call  your  attention  to  the  remarkable  exemption 
from  loss  by  the  death  of  the  assured  during  the  earlier 
years  of  the  Society's  existence.  After  carrying  on 
our  business  for  a  full  year,  we  had  but  one  death 
among  our  policy-holders.  On  January  9,  1861,  our 
statement  showed  that  out  of  more  than  nine  hundred 
policies,  assuring  more  than  three  millions,  but  three 
deaths  had  occurred,  and  up  to  that  time  the  claims 
presented  had  not  reached  the  sum  of  $15,000,  while 
the  cash  received  from  premiums  amounted  to  over 
$89,000." 

Mr.  Hyde  rigidly  adhered  to  the  standard  rates  of 
premiums  which  have  been  shown,  by  the  experiences 
of  years,  to  be  safe  and  conservative ;  and  he  saw  in 
the  greatly  increased  business  of  the  Society  an  ap- 
proval of  his  course  by  its  policy-holders.  In  spite  of 
tremendous  pressure,  he  refused  to  accept  premium 
notes,  as  was  the  custom  among  many  of  his  early 
competitors,  insisting  that  the  business  of  the  Society 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  91 

throughout  should  be  conducted  for  cash.  He  fore- 
saw imperfections  in  the  annual-dividend  system,  and 
sought  to  protect  policy-holders  by  devising  a  de- 
ferred-dividend policy  that  should  remedy  these  evils. 
Assured  of  the  safety  of  the  policy-holder,  he  simplified 
the  policy  contracts,  eliminated  onerous  conditions, 
and  so  adapted  the  business  to  the  needs  and  require- 
ments of  policy-holders  that  settlements  might  be  liberal 
and  payments  prompt.  At  that  time  all  the  companies 
issued  "  cast-iron  "  assurance  contracts,  and  at  the  death 
of  a  policy-holder  who  had  paid  premiums  in  good 
faith  for  many  years,  it  was  too  frequently  a  custom 
with  some  companies  to  contest  the  claim  or  to  com- 
promise it  for  a  fractional  part  of  its  face  value,  if  any 
blunder  or  inaccuracy  could  be  discovered  in  the  ap- 
plication. In  1877  Colonel  Walton  B.  D wight,  well 
known  throughout  central  New  York,  died,  leaving  poli- 
cies of  assurance  on  his  life,  in  various  companies,  ag- 
gregating $256,000.  Most  of  the  companies,  believing 
that  they  had  good  reasons,  contested  the  payment 
of  these  policies.  Mr.  Hyde  caused  an  independent 
investigation  to  be  made  of  the  claim  against  the 
Equitable  Society,  and  becoming  satisfied  that  it 
was  entirely  legitimate,  ordered  the  payment  of  the 
$40,000  policy  to  Colonel  D wight's  estate.  It  was 
paid  January  24,  1878.  This  prompt  action,  as  the 
case  attracted  wide  attention,  redounded  to  the  credit 
of  the   Society.      But   this  was  not    all.     Mr.    Hyde 


92 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


brought  the  whole  matter  before  the  directors,  and  on 
June  27,  1879,  they  announced  that  all  policies  (old  as 
well  as  new),  after  having  been  in  force  for  three  years, 
should  be  incontestable.  At  a  later  date,  this  limit 
was  reduced  to  two  years,  and  finally  to  one  year. 
Influenced  by  the  same  masterful  mind,  it  was  an- 
nounced on  January  i,  1881,  that  the  payment  of 
death  claims  would  be  made  immediately  upon  the 
receipt  of  satisfactory  proofs  of  death,  instead  of  in 
sixty  or  ninety  days  as  had  been  the  custom.  Mr. 
Hyde  considered  the  promptness  of  the  payment  of 
a  death  claim  as  an  obligation  to  the  heirs  of  the  de- 
ceased policy-holder,  and  one  that  the  Society  should 
recognize  promptly.  His  views  were  characteristi- 
cally expressed  in  this  remark  made  many  years  ago : 
"  Losses  by  death  do  not  disturb  me  in  the  least. 
The  Equitable  is  in  business  to  pay  losses.  It  was 
not  organized  to  engage  in  litigation  with  widows  and 
fatherless  children,  or  to  make  money  by  receiving 
interest  on  what  may  be  due  them,  or  by  discounting 
policies  that  should  be  paid  immediately  and  in  full." 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE    EQUITABLE    SOCIETY   UNAFFECTED   BY   PANICS 

The  financial  barometers  indicated  the  disturb- 
ance which  culminated  in  the  panic  of  1873.  Mr. 
Hyde,  seeing  the  coming  storm,  knew  that  the  pre- 
vailing distrust  would  extend  to  life  assurance  com- 
panies, and  that  disaster  and  failure  would  follow  in 
the  wake  of  distrust.  He  determined  to  place  the 
Equitable  Society  before  the  business  community 
upon  a  position  of  absolute  impregnability.  He  in- 
vited an  examination  of  the  Society's  affairs  early 
in  the  year  1872.  A  committee  of  policy-holders  com- 
posed of  the  following  gentlemen,  Henry  F.  Spauld- 
ing,  Gustav  Schwab,  George  B.  Upton,  William  H. 
Fogg,  Felicano  Latasa,  Eugene  Kelly,  David  Dows, 
Morris  K.  Jesup,  Junius  B.  Wheeler,  Theodore  W. 
Dwight,  all  residents  of  New  York,  responded  to 
the  invitation  ;  and  the  Hon.  Julius  L.  Clarke,  Insur- 
ance Commissioner  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  invited  to  join  these  policy-holders  in 
the  investigation.     This  committee  made   a  complete 


94 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


examination,  and  rendered,  on  March  30,  1872,  an 
exhaustive  report,  concluding  with  these  words:  "This 
investigation  has  shown  only  an  honest  and  efficient 
management,  and  the  undersigned  take  great  pleasure 
in  bearing  their  unanimous  testimony  to  the  faithful 
and  successful  management  of  the  directors  and  officers 
of  the  Society  of  the  great  trust  reposed  in  them." 

At  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  directors  held  on  the 
2  2d  of  October,  1873,  the  president  said :  "  The  recent 
financial  convulsion  has  served  to  demonstrate  the 
security  of  a  properly  managed  life  assurance  society 
as  a  depository  for  savings,  both  of  the  rich  and  the 
poor.  The  fact  that  during  the  past  three  years  thirty 
life  assurance  companies  in  the  United  States  have 
terminated  their  existence,  either  by  going  into  liqui- 
dation or  by  transferring  their  risks  to  stronger  insti- 
tutions, shows  conclusively  that  there  is  room  in  the 
management  of  a  life  assurance  society  for  the  same 
experience,  care,  and  constant  watchfulness  which  are 
so  necessary  in  the  transaction  of  other  financial  and 
commercial  enterprises.  And  on  this  very  account  the 
directors  of  the  Equitable  Society  may  justly  feel  sat- 
isfaction that,  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  trying 
emergencies  which  has  ever  threatened  the  stability  of 
American  commerce  and  industry,  our  Society  stands 
as  a  solid  rock  in  the  midst  of  an  angry  sea,  the  bul- 
wark and  support  of  those  who  cling  to  it." 

No   greater  evidence   of  Mr.   Hyde's  cautious  and 


AT    THIRTY-EIGHT    YEARS    OF    AGE 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  95 

conservative  management  can  be  found  than  that 
afforded  by  the  record  of  the  Equitable  Society  during 
the  panic  of  1873.  The  Society  was  in  the  thirteenth 
year  of  its  existence,  when  the  severest  financial  panic 
ever  experienced  in  this  country  involved  the  business 
world  in  the  deepest  gloom.  Failures  of  banks  and 
of  business  firms  which  had  been  esteemed  most  highly 
were  of  frequent  occurrence.  Hardly  any  institution 
was  thought  to  be  certainly  safe.  But  in  the  midst  of 
all  this  distress  the  strength  of  soundly  managed  life 
companies  was  conspicuously  revealed.  The  strain 
upon  other  financial  institutions  brought  into  strong 
relief  the  special  advantages  enjoyed  by  properly  con- 
ducted life  companies  in  times  of  severe  financial 
panic.  The  Equitable  Society  closed  that  year  with 
$184,282,130  of  assurance  in  force  and  assets  of 
$22,972,252.  The  excess  of  its  income  over  dis- 
bursements was  $3,200,123,  indicating  that  it  took 
advantage  of  the  panic  to  make  profitable  investments 
on  unusually  favorable  terms.  Not  only  did  the 
Equitable  Society  go  through  the  panic  without  injury, 
but,  by  its  prompt  payments  and  by  making  loans 
upon  adequate  securities,  it  contributed  materially  to 
lessening  the  rigors  of  the  situation. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  always  quick  to  read  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  his  motives  for  action  were  often  obscure 
until  the  light  of  subsequent  events  disclosed  them. 
Thus  it  was  that  during  the  early  years  of  the  Society, 


96  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

before  its  world-wide  reputation  had  been  firmly  es- 
tablished, he  invited  on  several  occasions  the  most 
searching  public  investigation  of  its  management. 
Two  such  examinations  were  made  in  the  year  1877, 
at  a  time  when  there  had  been  failures  of  life  com- 
panies and  when  there  was  much  public  apprehension 
regarding  financial  institutions  of  all  kinds.  One  of 
these  examinations  was  made  by  the  Insurance  De- 
partment of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  report 
of  that  examination,  dated  "Albany,  April  10,  1877," 
concludes  as  follows : 

"The  examination  has  been  one  of  the  most  thor- 
ough and  searching  character,  and  the  superintendent 
believes  that  no  corporation  doing  an  insurance  busi- 
ness has  been  subjected  to  severer  tests  than  this 
Society  has,  nothing  having  been  taken  for  granted, 
but  every  item,  both  of  assets  and  liabilities,  conscien- 
tiously and  carefully  scrutinized.  To  accomplish  this 
a  force  of  ten  persons,  under  the  chief  examiner  of  the 
department,  has  been  steadily  engaged  for  nearly  three 
months.  The  superintendent  is  much  gratified  at 
being  able  to  state  that  the  result  of  this  investigation 
shows  the  complete  solvency  of  the  institution,  and 
that  if  the  same  energy  and  ability  are  displayed  in  its 
management  and  conduct  from  this  time  as  in  the  past, 
a  career  of  solid  commercial  prosperity  is  before  it." 

The  other  examination  was  made  by  a  committee 
of  distinguished  policy-holders  (in   no  way  connected 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  97 

with  the  management  of  the  Equitable),  at  the  invita- 
tion of  the  president  and  directors  of  the  Society. 
When  the  committee  inquired  as  to  the  "  extent  and 
scope  which  the  proposed  investigations  should  em- 
brace," Mr.  Hyde  replied:  "It  is  the  wish  that  your 
examination  should  be  exhaustive  and  without  reserve 
or  limit ;  that  you  consider  all  and  every  question  rela- 
tive not  only  to  the  management  and  solvency  of  this 
institution,  but  also  the  basis  upon  which  the  Equitable 
Society  lays  claims  to  the  confidence  of  its  policy- 
holders and  of  the  general  public."  This  committee, 
consisting  of  nine  prominent  citizens,  employed  a  large 
corps  of  assistants  and  a  number  of  experts.  The  re- 
port of  the  committee  concluded  with  the  following 
paragraph : 

''The  business  of  this  Society  has  been  conducted 
with  energy,  ability,  and  system,  and  its  unparalleled 
growth  since  incorporated  in  1859  shows  uncommon 
industry  and  vigor  on  the  part  of  its  chief  officers  and 
directors,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  this  committee,  places 
the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  in  the  front  rank 
of  institutions  of  its  kind." 

For  the  better  establishment  of  the  Society's  business 
in  Great  Britain,  a  committee  of  distinguished  English 
actuaries  reviewed  its  management  and  rendered  a 
favorable  report  in  1873.  ^t  a  later  date,  namely,  in 
1 88 1,  when  the  Society  was  bitterly  attacked  by  British 
companies  in  consequence  of  the  success  of  its  busi- 


gS  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

ness  in  Great  Britain,  it  was  examined  by  the  distin- 
guished mathematician  General  J.  B.  Wheeler,  under 
an  appointment  made  by  the  Hon.  William  R.  Grace^ 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York,  with  the  concurrence 
of  her  British  Majesty's  consul-general  in  New  York, 
Sir  Edward  M.  Archibald. 

Concurrently  with  this  examination,  a  separate  and 
distinct  investigation  was  made  for  the  benefit  of  the 
French  policy-holders  of  the  Society,  the  envy  of 
the  French  companies  having  threatened  to  disturb  the 
equanimity  of  the  Society's  policy-holders  in  France. 
This  examination  was  made  by  the  French  consul- 
general  in  New  York,  assisted  by  Charles  Renauld, 
Esq.,  president  of  the  French  Benevolent  Society,  and 
P.  Maillard,  Esq.,  then  resident  director  in  New  York 
of  the  Credit  Lyonnais.  Other  examinations  were 
made  at  other  times, —  always  at  the  instance  of 
President  Hyde, —  but  enough  has  been  told  to  il- 
lustrate the  policy  of  his  action  in  such  cases. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

MR.    HYDE   ELECTED    PRESIDENT 

The  great  progress  of  the  Equitable  Society  attracted 
universal  attention.  On  the  occasion  of  its  fifteenth 
anniversary,  the  president,  in  addressing  the  officers 
and  directors,  and  congratulating  them  for  the  So- 
ciety's success,  said :  "  You  who  know  the  care  with 
which  every  point  has  been  weighed  and  every  step 
has  been  taken  may  justly  feel  proud  in  looking  upon 
the  Equitable,  as  it  stands  to-day,  as  a  monument  of 
steady  labor  and  well-directed  energy." 

But  to  Mr,  Hyde,  more  than  to  any  other  officer, 
may  be  ascribed  the  "well-directed  energy"  which 
had  made  the  Equitable  Society,  among  all  assurance 
companies,  the  preeminent  leader.  The  man  who,  in 
i860,  would  "stay  down  at  night  to  take  a  hand  in 
addressing  envelopes,"  had  kept  "things  stirring" 
during  all  these  years.  No  detail  of  the  business, 
which  had  grown  to  be  enormous,  escaped  his  atten- 
tion, no  department  suffered  for  lack  of  his  personal 
magnetism  to  inspire  it.     "  He  was,"  says  Mr.  Hege- 

99 


lOO  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

man,  "  an  incarnate  automobile ;  he  could  charge  him- 
self from  within  himself,  independent  of  exterior  force. 
He  needed  no  power-house ;  he  was  his  own  dy- 
namo. His  capacity  for  work  was  a  marvel.  He 
opened  the  throttle  from  the  start,  and  he  had  no  use 
for  air-brakes."  But  Mr.  Hyde  was  not  one  of  those 
men  who  possess  extraordinary  power  to  direct  their 
own  labors,  yet  fail  signally  to  direct  the  labors  of 
others.  On  the  contrary,  his  ability  to  select  men  for 
any  special  task  and  then  to  obtain  from  them  a  maxi- 
mum of  well-directed  energy  was  one  of  his  chief 
characteristics.  His  judgment  of  men  was  seldom  at 
fault,  and  his  ability  to  employ  them  entitles  him  to 
rank  among  the  leaders  of  men.  Realizing  at  the  out- 
set that  an  institution  like  the  Equitable  Society  would 
require  men  of  varied  abilities,  he  surrounded  himself 
with  those  who  were  specially  adapted  to  fill  the  partic- 
ular places  in  which  he  put  them.  His  selections  from 
the  first,  approved  by  long  and  honorable  service,  bear 
striking  witness  to  his  unerring  judgment.  His  tribute 
to  the  service  rendered  the  Society  by  its  first  president, 
indicated  in  itself  the  nicety  of  his  appreciation  of  the 
importance  of  the  position  before  the  public,  and  his 
regard  for  him  as  a  friend,   co-worker,   and  ally. 

Scarce  had  the  joyous  echoes  of  the  fifteenth  an- 
niversary faded  away  before  the  Society  was  called 
to  mourn  the  loss  of  President  Alexander,  who 
died  August  23,  1874.     On  September  2  Henry  Bald- 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  loi 

win  Hyde  was  elected  president  and  James  W.  Alex- ' 
ander  was  elected  vice-president. 

Thereafter,  until  Mr.  Hyde's  death,  these  two  men 
worked  side  by  side  in  the  positions  assigned  to  them. 
Their  hands  held  the  rudder  which  safely  guided  the 
Equitable  Society  over  the  shoals  and  through  the 
storms  of  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Mr.  Hyde,  when 
vice-president,  selected  Mr.  Alexander  to  be  his  first 
lieutenant,  and  regarded  him  as  a  successor  in  the  event 
of  his  prior  death.  Upon  the  occasion  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  he  said,  as  if  looking  into  the  future : 
"  I  do  not  wish  to  flatter  anybody  ;  flattery  has  always 
been  unpleasant  to  me,  as  it  must  be  to  everybody ; 
but  I  wish  to  make  these  remarks  regarding  Mr.  James 
W.  Alexander,  the  vice-president  of  the  Society.  I 
believe  Mr.  Alexander  to  be  as  well  qualified  as  I  am 
to  take  charge  of  the  executive  duties  of  the  Society, 
and  he  understands  the  assurance  business  as  well  as 
any  man  living.  I  have  been  associated  with  him  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  My  intercourse  with  him  has 
always  been  pleasant ;  and  I  feel  that  in  him  you  have 
a  gentleman  who  at  any  time  is  fully  qualified  to  take 
the  presidency  of  the  Society,  with  the  advice  of  the 
Board  and  the  assistance  of  the  other  officers." 

The  twenty-five  years  of  Mr.  Hyde's  presidency 
witnessed  a  development  in  the  general  business  of 
life  assurance  which  far  outstripped  the  expectations 
of  the  greatest  of  assurance  optimists  of  1859.     What 


I02  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

the  Equitable  Society  did  between  1859  and  1874  is  a 
matter  of  record,  and  what  it  has  subsequently  achieved 
is  known  and  read  of  all  men.  How  Mr.  Hyde  re- 
garded the  growth  of  the  Society  may  be  gathered  from 
his  reports  to  the  directors.  At  a  meeting  held  Janu- 
ary 30,  1878,  he  said:  "The  foundation  of  this  company 
being  secure,  we  shall  build  with  care  and  of  the 
best  material,  not  doubting  but  that  the  edifice  when 
crowned  will  sustain  all  the  hopes  that  its  friends  have 
entertained  for  it."  At  a  meeting  held  January  28,  1 880, 
he  said :  "  The  directors  of  this  Society  have  now  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years  demonstrated  their  ability  ;  and 
as  the  affairs  of  this  Society  are  conducted  on  a  sound 
basis,  the  assets  and  surplus  being  largely  augmented 
year  by  year,  no  backward  step  ever  having  been 
taken,  those  of  us  who  shall  survive  the  period  of 
another  twenty  years  will  undoubtedly  see  a  corpora- 
tion with  assets  and  surplus  greater  than  it  would  be 
wise  for  me  to  state  to-day."  In  1884  he  said  :  "  I  have 
often  been  asked  whether,  in  the  early  days  of  the  So- 
ciety, I  anticipated  such  results  as  have  been  attained. 
To  this  I  frankly  answer  no,  as  in  those  days  we 
struggled  chiefly  for  existence  and  recognition ;  and 
looking  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  trust  committed  to  our 
care,  our  motto  in  the  future  must  be:  True  conserva- 
tism and  the  highest  security  for  our  investments^ 

There  were  periods  of  financial  depression  (1884) 
and  panics  (1893)  to  disturb  commercial  and  industrial 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 


103 


conditions  ;  but  the  Equitable  Society,  true  to  its  prin- 
ciples, weathered  every  gale,  and  issued  from  beneath 
every  storm-cloud  stronger  and  greater.  That  Mr. 
Hyde  regarded  with  keen  interest  the  good  the  Society 
accomplished,  the  following  observation  clearly  implies  : 
"Without  claiming  that  life  assurance  is  a  benevolent 
institution,  I  know  of  no  other  that  is,  in  reality,  of 
greater  benefit.  The  life  assurance  companies  of  the 
United  States  in  1883  paid  $56,000,000,  chiefly  to 
widows  and  orphans,  throughout  the  country,  in  sums 
averaging  $2500,  It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate 
the  amount  of  good  which  has  resulted  from  the  dis- 
tribution of  this  money,  generally  to  the  needy  and 
dependent.  It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the 
amount  of  suffering  and  anxiety  it  has  saved,  and  the 
amount  of  crime  it  has  prevented." 

During  his  presidency  Mr.  Hyde  carried  to  success 
the  many  beneficial  innovations  which  he  had  inau- 
gurated during  the  presidency  of  his  predecessor,  and 
he  also  promoted  the  growth,  of  the  Society  in  many 
and  diversified  ways,  establishing  it  on  substantial  and 
conservative  grounds.  He  safeguarded  its  resources 
so  that  the  interests  of  the  policy-holders  were  at  all 
times  protected,  and  he  so  established  the  reputation 
of  the  Equitable  throughout  the  world  that  its  name 
became  a  synonyme  for  protection  and  security. 

Nature,  at  last,  wearied  of  the  drafts  made  upon 
it,  remonstrated  and  protested.     But  Mr.  Hyde  heeded 


I04 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


neither  remonstrance  nor  protest.  His  mind  was  so 
much  in  his  work  that  he  denied  himself  the  rest  and 
recreation  which  his  body  craved.  To  his  Board  of 
Directors,  at  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Society, 
he  spoke  of  his  health  in  these  words :  "  Ours  is  not  a 
dull,  uninteresting  work  ;  it  is  a  work  of  the  keenest 
enjoyments;  and  the  efforts  which  our  enthusiasm 
prompts  us  to  are  only  limited  by  the  line  that  must 
be  drawn  somewhere  to  preserve  the  life  and  health 
of  those  engaged  in  it.  In  my  own  case,  I  am  obliged 
to  be  more  careful  than  in  past  years.  I  have  broken 
down  twice — once  in  1869,  when  I  was  attacked  with 
typhoid  fever,  and  was  obliged  to  spend  three  months 
in  California  to  recuperate,  and  again  in  1878,  when  I 
was  attacked  with  a  variety  of  disorders,  simply  the 
result  of  overwork.  On  that  occasion  I  was  absent 
from  the  office  for  about  nine  months,  going  as  far 
away  from  New  York  as  was  possible.  I  now  endeavor 
to  take  periodical  seasons  of  rest,  that  I  may  spend 
more  time  in  attending  to  the  business  of  the  Society 
than  would  otherwise  be  possible." 

Mr.  Hyde  fully  appreciated  the  necessity  of  rest  and 
recreation,  but,  skilful  as  he  was  in  making  plans  and 
devising  methods,  he  could  never  persuade  himself  to 
arrange  periods  for  recuperation  except  when,  in  re- 
sponse to  the  imperative  orders  of  his  physician,  he 
was  compelled  to  do  so.  One  summer  evening  in 
1889  Mr.  Bridgman  was  walking  with  him  through  the 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  105 

grounds  of  his  country-seat  at  Bay  Shore,  Long  Island, 
He  had  been  talking  of  his  labors  and  their  exhaust- 
ing effect  upon  his  health,  also  of  the  incessant  and 
imperative  demands  which  the  business  of  the  Equita- 
ble Society  made  upon  his  time  and  attention,  when  he 
said  :  "  I  do  not  need  the  compensation  I  am  receiving 
from  the  Society.  Those  who  think  that  my  work  is 
for  money  do  not  know  my  motives.  If  it  were  not  for 
my  pride  in  the  Equitable  and  my  love  for  it,  no  salary 
would  tempt  me  to  render  the  service  that  takes  so 
much  of  my  strength.  Were  it  not  for  my  devotion  to 
the  company,  I  would  spend  my  entire  summer  here." 


CHAPTER  XV 

TRAITS  OF  A  STRONG  CHARACTER 

Mr.  Hyde's  marvelous  success  was  due  largely  to  the 
fact  that,  when  undertaking  an  important  work,  he 
never  relied  upon  a  part  of  his  equipment  if,  by  bring- 
ing every  faculty  and  resource  into  action,  he  could 
render  success  more  certain. 

He  was  intolerant  of  waste ;  he  scrutinized  with  the 
utmost  vigilance  all  the  expenditures  of  the  Society, 
giving  as  much  attention  to  items  which  many  men 
would  consider  trivial  as  to  those  which  all  men  would 
recognize  as  of  first  importance,  and  he  was  most  par- 
ticular to  economize  time. 

He  worked  incessantly,  but  never  wasted  his 
strength  on  what  he  considered  unnecessary  labor. 
This  often  caused  embarrassment  to  his  associates 
and  assistants.  If  he  knew  what  he  wanted,  and 
had  ordered  it  done,  he  wasted  no  time  in  explana- 
tions as  to  why  he  wanted  it,  or  what  he  wanted  it  for, 
or  what  the  consequence  of  failure  or  success  would  be. 
He  expected  every  man  to  whom  he  had  given  a  mis- 

io6 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  107 

sion  to  exercise  judgment  and  to  avoid  mistakes ;  but 
if  he  gave  definite  instructions,  and  his  instructions 
were  not  literally  obeyed,  and  failure  resulted,  the  man 
soon  discovered  that  he  was  in  disgrace.  Those  who 
were  most  successful  in  securing  his  commendation 
were  those  who  were  able  to  read  his  thoughts  and 
interpret  his  wishes  when  his  words  were  few.  Al- 
though he  always  insisted  upon  despatch,  he  required 
the  utmost  system,  accuracy,  and  neatness  in  work. 
Sometimes  he  asked  if  a  piece  of  work  had  been  fin- 
ished almost  as  soon  as  it  had  been  begun. 

He  often  said  to  those  who  were  entrusted  with  im- 
portant commissions,  *'  Remember  that  a  blunder  is 
a  crime "  [  and  he  seldom  forgave  an  error  which 
seemed  in  any  degree  due  to  stupidity  or  careless- 
ness.-^ On  the  other  hand,  he  never  failed  to  show 
his  appreciation  of  successful  achievement. 

Mr.  Hyde's  personal  appearance,  ten  years  after  the 
Society  was  organized,  has  been  described  by  a  writer 
as  follows :  "  He  was  taller  than  the  men  about  him. 
His  head  was  large,  but  well  balanced  on  his  big- 
boned,  vigorous  frame.  His  complexion  was  fair,  but 
his  cheeks  were  ruddy  with  health.      His  hair,  which 

1  Sometimes    the    "crime"    was  matter  is  ancient  history  now.  I  trust 

speedily  forgiven :  "...  I  was  very  you  will  go  on  with  your  work  that 

much  annoyed,"  he  said  in  a  private  you  are  doing  so  well,  feeling  assured 

letter.  "You  were  responsible  to  me;  that  you  have  the  confidence  of  the 

and  you  should  have  acted  on  that  officers,  and  that  no  one,  least  of  all 

idea.     The  thing  that  annoyed  me  myself,  retains  any  hard  feelings  to- 

was  your  error  in  judgment.     The  wards  you.  H.  B.  Hyde." 


io8  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

was  almost  black,  was  brushed  out  on  each  side  of 
his  ears,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  day.  He 
wore  side-whiskers,  and  his  upper  lip  and  chin  were 
clean-shaven.  His  glance  was  quick  and  piercing, 
and  the  effect  produced  was  greatly  heightened 
by  his  shaggy,  black,  overhanging  eyebrows.  But 
the  most  characteristic  feature  was  his  mouth  — 
beautiful  in  shape,  exceedingly  mobile  and  sensitive, 
its  great  firmness  tempered  by  a  humorous  play  at 
the  corners." 

When  he  returned  from  a  journey  round  the  world, 
landing  in  San  Francisco,  and  coming  across  the 
continent  to  New  York,  one  of  the  junior  officials 
of  the  Society  went  to  meet  him  at  a  Chicago  hotel 
as  he  passed  through  that  city.  The  young  man  went 
into  the  dining-room,  and,  while  waiting  for  his  break- 
fast, was  annoyed  by  the  persistent  gaze  of  a  tall 
stranger  who  had  taken  a  seat  at  the  opposite  side  of 
the  same  table.  He  was  made  so  uncomfortable  by 
the  steady  stare  of  this  stranger  that  he  was  about  to 
move  his  seat  to  another  table,  when  a  spoken  word 
revealed  the  fact  that  he  was  none  other  than  Henry  B. 
Hyde.  He  had  gone  on  the  journey  wearing  bushy 
whiskers.  He  returned  wearing  a  mustache,  and  the 
rest  of  his  face  was  clean-shaven.  He  looked  younger 
than  before,  and  his  appearance  had  been  so  altered 
that  some  of  his  friends  failed  to  recognize  him  upon 
his  arrival  in  New  York. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  109 

Mr.  George  T.  Wilson,  now  third  vice-president  of 
the  Society,  says :  "  As  I  think  of  our  late  friend  and 
departed  chief,  my  mind  runs  back  to  a  time  twenty-six 
years  ago,  when,  as  a  boy  in  the  office  of  the  Society,  I 
first  saw  him.  I  can  see  him  now  in  my  mind's  eye 
as  he  walked  about  the  office,  apparently  supervising 
everything  that  was  going  on  ;  not  confining  his  atten- 
tion to  the  business  of  the  office,  but  also  superintend- 
ing the  erection  along  Cedar  Street  of  one  of  the 
extensions  to  the  Equitable  Building.  I  recall  the 
deep  impression  it  made  upon  me  to  see  the  head  of 
the  institution  working  harder  than  any  clerk.  In  a 
boyish  way,  I  had  an  idea,  which  is  more  or  less  preva- 
lent even  among  those  of  older  years,  that  the  officers 
of  great  corporations  did  not  have  to  work  very  hard, 
I  know  better  now,  and  my  knowing  better  dates  from 
those  early  days  when  I  was  a  witness  of  the  hard 
work  done  by  Mr.  Hyde.  It  was  my  first  great  object- 
lesson,  and  it  had  its  influence  and  made  a  lasting 
impression.  Of  course,  as  an  office  boy,  I  was  not  the 
subject  of  any  attention  from  the  president ;  but  when 
I  happened  his  way,  and  he  turned  that  eagle  eye 
upon  me,  I  felt  that  he  must  be  reading  my  inmost 
thoughts — a  feeling  which  always  continued  with  me. 
He  had  a  wonderful  power  of  penetration  and  of  sizing 
up  a  man.  My  first  actual  experience  with  Mr.  Hyde 
was  when  I  was  sent  down  to  his  country  home  on  a 
Saturday  morning  in   1879  to  take  dictation   in   con- 


no  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

nection  with  an  important  and  confidential  matter  of 
business.  I  recall  the  feeling  of  elation  at  the  thought 
of  the  confidence  placed  in  me ;  but  I  must  confess 
that  at  the  same  time  I  went  with  a  great  deal  of 
trepidation ;  for  even  thus  early  I  had  learned  that 
Mr.  Hyde,  while  fully  appreciative,  on  the  one  hand, 
of  work  well  done,  was,  on  the  other  hand,  intolerant 
of  mistakes.  The  particular  business  that  engrossed 
Mr.  Hyde's  attention  at  that  time  was  a  fight  against 
the  injudicious  and  unscientific  action  of  another  com- 
pany. The  battle  was  fought  out  that  Saturday  as  he 
dictated  his  plan  of  campaign.  So  engrossed  was  he 
in  his  subject  that  he  did  not  keep  track  of  the  flight 
of  time.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  hasten  to  catch 
the  last  train  of  the  day.  Mr.  Hyde  drove  with  me 
to  the  station,  but  we  were  too  late.  I  had  not  come 
prepared  to  remain  overnight,  but  he  took  me  in  as 
one  of  the  family,  and  kept  me  over  Sunday.  I  recall 
with  delight  that  evening,  as  he  gave  to  friends,  who 
dropped  in  to  extend  greetings  to  him  on  his  recent 
return  from  a  trip  round  the  world,  his  experiences 
and  impressions  of  various  places.  It  was  like  an 
illustrated  lecture.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  I  walked 
with  him,  and  he  talked  of  the  Equitable  Society,  of 
the  world  of  men  and  aflairs,  and  yet  again  and  again 
and  again  of  the  Society.  It  is  very  often  said  that  a 
man  cannot  be  thoroughly  known  unless  he  can  be 
seen  outside  of  his  business.     Here  was  a  great  man 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  m 

apparently  engrossed  body  and  soul  in  his  business, 
with  no  thought  of  anything  else,  nor  showing  any 
other  side  of  his  nature  to  the  world,  whom,  by  the 
revelations  resulting  from  this  personal  contact  at  his 
own  home,  I  found  to  be  one  of  the  most  genial, 
tender,  sympathetic,  and  noblest  of  men.  I  thanked 
my  lucky  stars  that  it  had  been  my  privilege  thus 
early  in  my  business  career  to  have  this  experience. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  a  sentiment  and  friendship 
which  I  have  treasured  as  a  priceless  possession,  and 
to  which  I  owe  more  than  I  can  express.  When  I  sit 
and  think  of  the  past,  I  recall  the  walk  of  that  Sun- 
day, and,  in  connection  with  it,  other  walks  at  other 
times  and  in  other  places,  in  foreign  cities,  London 
and  Paris,  and  elsewhere  with  Mr.  Hyde,  who,  as  is 
well  known,  greatly  enjoyed  walking. 

"  It  is  quite  if  not  altogether  impossible,  in  writing 
about  Mr.  Hyde,  to  separate  him  from  the  Equitable 
Society ;  its  record  is  the  record  of  his  life,  and  vice 
versa;  but  if  I  were  asked  to  name  traits  outside 
of  those  so  well  known  in  his  business,  such  as 
his  great  industry,  devotion  to  business,  tremendous 
energy,  intuitive  knowledge  of  men,  ready  grasp  of 
complicated  questions,  promptness  in  deciding  them, 
ability  to  surmount  obstacles,  no  matter  how  appa- 
rently insuperable,  indomitable  will,  and  all  those  other 
great  qualities  which  he  possessed  to  such  an  unusual 
degree  and  which  have  resulted  in  the  upbuilding  of 


112  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

the  Equitable  Society  to  what  it  is  to-day,  I  should  say 
that  the  characteristic  which  impressed  me  most  in  Mr. 
Hyde's  make-up  was  his  appreciation  of  loyalty,  faith- 
fulness, and  good  work.  His  commendation  of  work 
well  done  was  as  pronounced  as  was  his  criticism  of 
mistakes  and  work  badly  done.  We  often  see  men 
who,  while  critical  and  outspoken  about  unsuccessful 
work,  rarely,  if  ever,  express  appreciation  of  good 
work ;  who  never  pat  a  man  on  the  back,  figuratively 
speaking,  and  say,  '  Well  done.'  I  cannot  imagine 
anything  more  stimulating  —  at  least,  there  never 
has  been  anything  more  so  to  me — than  to  have 
Mr.  Hyde  express  approval  of  work  well  done.  An- 
other trait  which  impressed  me  greatly,  apart  from 
those  which  were  so  much  in  the  eye  of  those  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  business,  was  his  sense  of  justice. 
I  have  often  heard  him  say  that  if  he  had  done  the 
boot-black  down-stairs  an  injustice  and  was  convinced 
of  it,  he  would  go  to  the  boot-black  and  tell  him  so. 
This  was  not  merely  an  empty  expression,  for,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  acted  up  to  this  principle,  and  I  can 
recall  many  illustrations  of  it." 

Mr.  William  H.  Mclntyre,  now  fourth  vice-president 
of  the  Society,  who  also  came  into  the  service  of  the 
Equitable  as  a  boy,  and  who  was  for  many  years  Mr. 
Hyde's  private  secretary,  says  : 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  saw  Henry  B. 
Hyde.      It  was  about  February,  1880,   and  I  was  then 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  113 

a  messenger  boy  in  the  outside  office  of  the  Equitable. 
Passing  along  the  hall  one  day,  near  the  door  leading 
to  the  president's  office,  I  saw  a  man  coming  toward 
me  who  seemed  tall  as  a  pine,  and  with  the  eye  of  an 
eagle.  I  knew  instantly,  by  his  distinguished  and 
commanding  presence,  that  it  was  Henry  B.  Hyde. 
Boy-like,  I  stood  filled  with  awe.  In  the  course  of 
time  I  was  brought  into  personal  contact  with  him,  and 
in  the  years  following,  as  I  worked  by  his  side,  my 
thoughts  would  go  back  to  the  day  when  I  first  saw 
him.  My  admiration  of  his  sterling  qualities  ever 
increased,  and  I  soon  learned  to  love  as  well  as  to 
respect  him. 

"  During  all  the  time  I  knew  him,  he  never  wavered 
from  his  one  great  purpose,  the  ambition  of  his  life,  the 
upbuilding  of  the  Equitable.  This  work  occupied  his 
thoughts  day  and  night,  and  I  know  he  used  to  tell 
Mrs.  Hyde  that  the  only  thing  of  which  she  could  ever 
be  jealous  was  the  Equitable.  Holding  his  own  per- 
sonal interests  as  of  secondary  value,  he  was  always 
willing  to  sacrifice  himself  to  the  end  that  the  business 
to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life  might  prosper.  I 
remember  on  one  occasion  that  he  was  approached  by 
a  man  near  to  him,  and  having  his  confidence,  who 
asked  if  Mr.  Hyde  would  object  to  his  purchasing  an 
interest  in  a  certain  security,  held  chiefly  by  the  Equi- 
table, on  which  profits  were  sure  and  quick.  Mr.  Hyde 
replied :    '  I   wish  you  would  not  do  it.      I  want  the 


114  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

Equitable  to  get  it  all.'  That  security  has  since  in- 
creased in  value  a  thousandfold ;  but  Mr.  Hyde  would 
never  enlarge  his  own  small  holding  (taken  at  the  time 
of  its  original  allotment)  because  he  wanted  the 
Society  to  have  the  entire  benefit.  Perhaps  nothing 
better  illustrated  this  trait  of  his  character  than  his 
aversion  to  any  public  notice  of  his  personality.  Time 
and  again  he  was  applied  to  for  permission  to  publish 
his  photograph.  The  request  was  always  refused,  and 
he  often  sent  me  to  call  on  the  publishers,  and,  if  ne- 
cessary, threaten  to  sue  should  they  publish  his  portrait. 
He  said  :  *  They  may  publish  all  they  please  about  the 
Equitable,  and  let  that  be  my  monument ;  but  I  do  not 
wish  my  own  photograph  to  be  published ' ;  and,  so 
far  as  I  know,  the  only  time  his  likeness  ever  appeared, 
the  picture  was  surreptitiously  obtained.  Many  times 
he  was  asked  for  authority  to  print  his  reminiscences 
[part  of  which  appear  in  this  book],  but  he  always 
shrank  from  it,  his  desire  being  so  strong  to  have  his 
own  identity  merged  with  that  of  the  Equitable. 

**  His  confidence  in  the  men  with  whom  he  had  sur- 
rounded himself  was  very  great.  When  once  his  trust 
was  placed  it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  shake  it.  If 
any  one  in  whom  he  had  faith  failed  him,  he  would  not 
believe  it  unless  the  positive  proof  were  laid  directly 
before  him.  Even  then  he  was  unwilling  to  punish, 
so  great  was  his  charity.  Incidents  of  this  nature  — 
happily  not  frequent  —  had  a  saddening  and  depress- 


AT    FIFTY-FIVE    YEARS    OF    AGE 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  115 

ing  effect  upon  him.  He  always  said,  however,  that 
it  was  hard  for  him  to  forgive  a  Har  or  a  thief.  Any 
work  well  done  was  sure  of  his  commendation,  and 
he  took  pleasure  in  telling  of  it  to  those  about  him. 
This  shows  how  well  he  knew  the  incentives  to  ambi- 
tion. Equally  well  he  knew  when  a  stern  word  was 
needed,  and  failure  on  the  part  of  any  employees  to 
succeed  in  tasks  in  which  success  might  reasonably  be 
expected  was  sure  to  receive  his  criticism.  The  ex- 
cuse might  be  attempted  that  they  had  used  great 
exertions,  walked  long  miles,  or  tried  many  experi- 
ments, all  to  no  end.  Then  he  would  quietly  say,  *  I 
want  results,  not  futile  endeavors,'  and  results  invari- 
ably ensued,  because  his  criticisms  were  made  only 
when  deserved.  Sometimes  he  would  show  impatience 
with  those  who  relied  upon  others  and  had  no  indepen- 
dence of  thought ;  and  to  such  an  one  I  once  heard 
him  say :  '  Go  butt  your  head  against  a  stone  wall,  to 
get  a  thought  of  some  kind  into  it' 

"  One  of  his  standing  rules  was  that  all  agents  of 
the  Society  should  have  free  access  to  his  office  and 
to  his  time.  I  never  knew  him  refuse  to  see  an 
agent,  no  matter  on  what  business  he  might  come. 
He  enjoyed  his  intimacy  with  their  work  and  his  famil- 
iarity with  their  needs.  His  knowledge  of  the  details 
of  the  Society's  business,  and  the  keenness  of  his  watch 
over  them,  were  wonderful.  He  could  digest  an  in- 
tricate statement  more   quickly  and  thoroughly  than 


ii6  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

any  one  I  ever  knew,  and  his  memory  was  such  that 
he  never  needed  to  refer  to  it  again.  Inaccuracies  he 
could  find  as  if  by  instinct.  I  remember  that  there 
was  sent  to  him  on  one  occasion  a  statement  of  per- 
centages which  was  supposed  to  be  correct  beyond 
all  question  of  doubt,  but  Mr.  Hyde  pointed  out  errors 
in  it  without  referring  to  anything  but  his  memory. 
While  a  master  of  figures  himself,  he  believed  in  the 
wisdom  of  putting  things  in  the  plainest  manner  pos- 
sible, so  that  they  could  be  understood  by  every  one. 
He  was  averse  to  any  complex  statements  of  the 
Society's  business.  He  always  wanted  to  see  the 
darker  as  well  as  the  brighter  side,  and  if  the  head 
of  a  department,  seeking  to  please  him,  should  bring 
something  that  looked  well  on  paper,  but  did  not  show 
all  the  facts,  Mr.  Hyde  was  not  to  be  deceived.  He 
insisted  upon  seeing  all  sides.  It  was  upon  such  facts 
that  he  formed  his  plans. 

"  Mr.  Hyde  was  one  of  the  first  men  to  systematize 
the  keeping  of  memoranda,  and  he  was  never  to  be 
found  without  his  pocket  memorandum-book.  It  was 
with  him  during  every  hour  of  the  day,  and  was  within 
reach  even  as  he  slept,  for  often,  during  the  night,  he 
would  awake  and  record  some  thought  in  it.  The 
book  was  a  creation  of  his  own,  and  was  so  arranged 
that  each  sheet  could  be  inserted  or  removed  at  will. 

"  He  took  every  opportunity  to  impress  upon  others 
the  usefulness  and  importance  of  keeping  daily  memo- 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  117 

randa.  I  remember  his  doing  so  at  a  large  agency 
dinner,  when  he  said  that  he  made  it  a  rule  never  to 
be  without  his  book ;  and  one  of  the  agents  present, 
thinking  that,  as  Mr.  Hyde  was  in  evening  dress,  he 
would  certainly  not  have  the  book  with  him,  called 
out:    'I'll  bet  you  haven't  it  with  you  now!' 

"  Mr.  Hyde  stopped,  and  everybody  laughed  as  he 
felt  in  his  right-hand  pocket  and  found  no  book  there. 
*Wait,'  said  he,  *I  have  not  finished  yet,'  and  he 
produced  the  book  from  the  other  side,  holding  it  up 
in  triumph  before  the  audience. 

"In  his  leisure  moments  —  unhappily  so  few — his 
charm  of  manner  and  greatness  of  heart  were  particu- 
larly evident.  At  such  times  those  who  knew  him 
well  felt  keenly  the  pleasure  of  his  presence.  He 
talked  of  the  past,  but  more  often  of  the  future ;  and 
I  believe  that  the  whole  story  of  his  life  would  be, 
not  only  of  intense  interest,  but  an  education  in  itself 
for  any  one. 

"  To  know  him  was  to  love  him — the  greatest,  the 
truest,  and  the  noblest  of  men." 


CHAPTER   XVI 

A   PERMANENT   HOME 

There  never  was  a  prouder  moment  in  Mr.  Hyde's 
life  than  when,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  directors 
held  in  January,  1868,  authority  was  given  to  proceed 
at  once  with  the  construction  of  an  Equitable  Building 
on  the  site  secured  by  the  special  committee  September 
16,  1867.  The  ground  covered  a  space  of  10,092 
square  feet  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Cedar  Street,  with  a  frontage  of  86  feet  7  inches  on 
Broadway,  and  134  feet  5  inches  on  Cedar  Street. 
At  this  time  the  Society  he  had  created  was  only  eight 
and  a  half  years  old.  Its  assets  were  only  $5,000,000, 
its  surplus  only  $382,663,  and  its  income  only  $3,247,- 
000  ;  and  he  who  had  been  mainly  instrumental  in 
achieving  this  success  was  only  in  his  thirty-fourth 
year.  To  know  that  success  had  rewarded  his  efforts 
in  the  past,  and  that  still  greater  success  awaited  him 
in  the  future,  must  necessarily  have  afforded  him  the 
keenest  satisfaction.  He  had  conquered  where  others 
had   failed  ;   he  had  builded  well  where  disaster  had 

118 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  119 

been  prophesied ;  and  the  knowledge  that  the  Equita- 
ble Society  would  ever  after  possess  its  own  home,  that 
it  would  ever  after  be  recognized  as  a  great  institution 
of  local  and  national  importance,  must  have  filled  his 
heart  with  rejoicing. 

The  gentlemen  appointed  to  serve  on  the  building 
committee  were  Messrs.  William  G.  Lambert,  Henry 
G.  Marquand,  William  Tilden  Blodgett,  John  Auchin- 
closs,  and  Henry  B.  Hyde.  This  committee  was  au- 
thorized to  proceed  forthwith  to  construct  a  building 
under  the  plans  of  Messrs.  Gilman  &  Kendall,  archi- 
tects, with  Mr.  George  B.  Post  as  consulting  architect 
in  matters  of  construction.  The  building  was  com- 
pleted on  May  i,  1870.  In  October  of  that  year  Mr. 
Hyde  was  in  San  Francisco  making  a  personal  exam- 
ination of  the  Equitable  Society's  agency.  Returning 
eastward,  he  turned  aside  to  survey  the  scenery  of  the 
Sierras,  and  writing  home  he  said :  "  I  put  my  head 
at  the  base  of  a  perpendicular  rock  six  thousand  feet 
high,  and  looked  ever  so  far  into  the  clouds;  but  some- 
how the  sight  did  not  impress  me  so  much  as  when  I 
saw  the  last  cornice  stone  of  the  Equitable  Building 
put  in  its  place." 

This  was  the  first  office  building  that  was  equipped 
with  passenger-elevators.  Many  years  after,  Mr. 
Hyde,  in  referring  to  these  elevators,  said :  "  It  is  a 
very  singular  fact  that  at  the  time  the  first  Equitable 
Building  was  approaching  completion  there  was  not  a 


I20  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

single  elevator  in  New  York  in  a  structure  devoted 
exclusively  to  office  purposes.  All  the  members  of 
the  building  committee,  except  myself,  were  opposed 
to  the  introduction  of  elevators,  but  finally  consented 
to  have  one  erected.  It  required  quite  a  struggle  on 
my  part  to  obtain  their  consent  to  put  two  in  the  build- 
ing." This  innovation  was  immediately  justified  by 
the  great  impetus  which  it  gave  to  the  renting  of 
rooms  on  the  upper  floors  of  what  was  then  the  high- 
est office  building  in  the  United  States ;  the  portion  of 
the  building  not  then  required  for  the  business  of  the 
Society  was  completely  occupied  by  tenants  soon  after 
it  was  finished. 

Mr.  B.  R.  Miller,  who  became  an  agent  of  the 
Society  in  1867,  says:  "While  the  Equitable  Building 
was  going  up  the  opinion  was  generally  expressed 
that  it  would  be  hard  to  find  tenants  for  the  upper 
stories.  Mr.  Hyde  claimed  that  for  lawyers  and 
others  similarly  situated  the  upper  floors,  if  made 
easily  accessible,  would  be  more  comfortable  and  ap- 
propriate than  those  near  the  level  of  the  street ;  and 
he  proceeded  to  demonstrate  practically  his  new  and 
startling  theory,  in  spite  of  the  sneers  of  real-estate 
men.  I  came  down  very  early  one  morning,  and  there 
was  Mr.  Hyde,  with  his  coat  off,  showing  the  rooms  in 
the  building  to  a  party  of  gentlemen.  He  gave  much 
of  his  time  to  this  work  and  rented  most  of  the  offices 
himself." 


5; 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  121 

But  this  building,  which  was  looked  upon  with  skep- 
tical amusement  by  real-estate  experts,  was  but  one 
step  in  advance  of  the  new  era  of  office  buildings,  and 
only  one  step  in  advance  of  the  requirements  of  the 
Society.  In  three  years'  time  the  rooms  set  apart  for 
the  use  of  directors,  officers,  clerks,  and  agents  proved 
inadequate  to  the  demands  ;  and  on  March  26,  1874,  a 
second  building  committee  was  appointed,  with  author- 
ity to  purchase  four  additional  lots  on  Cedar  Street  and 
one  on  Pine  Street,  and  to  build  thereon  an  extension. 
Upon  this  committee  were  appointed  Messrs.  William 
G.  Lambert,  Henry  A.  Hurlbut,  Henry  G.  Marquand, 
James  Low,  T.  S.  Young,  James  M.  Halsted,  and 
Henry  S.  Terbell.  During  subsequent  years  the 
growth  of  the  Society  made  necessary  the  purchase  of 
other  adjacent  and  contiguous  lots,  so  that  at  the 
close  of  Mr.  Hyde's  period  of  labor  there  had  passed 
under  the  control  or  ownership  of  the  Equitable 
Society  the  entire  block  bounded  by  Broadway,  Pine, 
Cedar,  and  Nassau  streets.  The  wisdom  and  foresight 
of  the  administration  of  the  Society  have  been  proved 
not  only  by  the  fact  that  the  building  stands  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  financial  precinct,  but  also  that  it  has 
increased  in  value  as  an  investment.  "  One  of  Mr. 
Hyde's  favorite  phrases,"  says  Mr.  Depew,  "  was, 
*  Only  the  best  pays.'  He  illustrated  this  by  the 
Equitable  Building,  which  was  erected  where  land 
was  expensive,  and  it  was  constructed  apparently  on 


122  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

a  lavish  scale.  But  position  and  elegance  drew 
tenants  and  secured  rents  which  justified  the  invest- 
ment, and  the  value  of  the  whole  as  an  advertisement 
of  the  Equitable  Society  cannot  be  estimated." 

The  motives  which  prompted  Mr.  Hyde's  action 
were  accurately  read  by  Mr.  Depew,  for,  on  the  26th 
of  April,  1876,  shortly  before  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board,  Mr.  Hyde  said  to  the  directors: 
"The  expression  of  my  desire  for  economy,  and  the 
reference  to  exemption  in  the  past  from  the  penalties 
of  error  which  have  been  suffered  by  others,  may  lead 
some  one  to  ask,  *  Why  provide  these  extensive  offices, 
these  superb  accommodations,  these  almost  unlimited 
facilities  for  the  transaction  and  increase  of  our  business, 
undoubtedly  unequaled  in  the  world  ? '  To  such  in- 
quiry I  answer :  Because  this  Society  may  be  regarded 
as  having  passed  through  only  its  preliminary  and 
experimental  stage ;  because  our  real  career  has  only 
just  begun ;  because  with  energetic  and  judicious 
management,  and  with  the  necessary  accommodation 
and  facilities,  this  Society  is  destined  to  become  one 
of  the  greatest  and  most  successful  corporations  in  the 
world ;  and  if  great  and  successful,  its  benign  influence 
upon  its  beneficiaries  will  be  correspondingly  wide- 
spread and  beneficent.  One  has  only  to  examine  with 
care  the  extent  of  the  operations  of  the  Society  in  the 
past,  while  in  its  formative  period,  and  then  with  the 
eye  of  fancy  to  look  from  these  into  the  future,  to  bring 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  123 

before  the  mind's  eye  a  view  of  benefits  to  be  conferred 
upon  the  public  almost  too  vast  to  be  comprehended, 
and  an  influence  to  be  exerted  throughout  the  world 
which  can  scarcely  be  estimated." 

The  reconstructed  and  enlarged  building  was  com- 
pleted in  1888,  in  accordance  with  the  designs  and  under 
the  personal  supervision  of  the  distinguished  architect 
Mr.  George  B.  Post;  but  the  character  of  the  structure, 
and  its  conspicuous  success,  not  only  on  account  of 
its  throng  of  important  and  prominent  tenants,  but 
because  of  its  influence  in  fittingly  typifying  the  solidity 
and  prosperity  of  the  Society,  bear  the  indelible  impress 
of  Mr.  Hyde's  individuality.  As  he  once  wrote  policies 
with  his  own  hand,  and  helped  the  clerks  in  addressing 
envelopes,  so  in  later  years,  when  the  Equitable  Build- 
ing was  begun,  he  gave  as  much  attention  to  the  details 
of  its  construction  as  did  the  architects.  Every  year 
he  interested  himself  personally  in  the  rentings  of  the 
building.  When  springtime  approached  his  order  to 
the  superintendent  was:  "  Begin  at  once  to  work  our 
rents  up.  You  can  bring  to  me  anybody  to  whom 
you  wish  to  rent  a  room."  He  wanted  to  know 
daily,  and  in  detail,  about  the  condition  of  the  build- 
ing, sometimes  sending  some  one  to  make  a  quiet 
inspection  of  it  unbeknown  to  the  janitor ;  for,  as  he 
said,  "The  Equitable  Building  being  very  large,  the 
best  janitor  would  be  likely  to  neglect  some  part  of  it." 


CHAPTER   XVII 


MR.    HYDE    AS    A    TRAVELER 


In  September,  1878,  Mr.  Hyde  sailed  from  New  York 
for  England,  with  intention  to  make  a  journey  around 
the  world  should  circumstance  favor  it.  The  letters 
which  he  wrote  to  his  family  while  he  traveled,  and 
those  which,  after  his  return,  he  wrote  to  friends  in 
foreign  lands  whose  hospitalities  he  had  enjoyed,  and 
those  which,  in  after  years,  he  wrote  to  friends  going 
abroad,  urging  them  to  push  beyond  the  usual  limit 
of  pleasure  tours  and  "put  a  girdle  round  about  the 
world,"  as  he  had  done,  show  the  man  in  a  new  and 
admirable  light.  He  was  a  naturalist  in  the  sense 
that  he  was  a  close  observer  and  represented  truthfully 
what  he  saw.  As  this  was  his  first  visit  to  foreign 
lands,  he  carried,  wherever  he  went,  the  enthusiasm 
of  a  discoverer ;  and  his  sketches  of  scenes  and  in- 
cidents, touched  occasionally  with  humor,  were  so 
clear  and  forcible  that  the  recipients  of  them  might 
have  imagined  that  they  had  been  traveling  in  his 
company. 

124 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  125 

The  first  thing  that  he  did,  on  arrival  of  the  outward- 
bound  ship  off  Queenstown,  was  to  mail  a  long  letter 
to  his  children,  in  which  he  described  the  voyage  with 
such  detail  as  would  interest  them.  Here  are  a  few 
extracts  from  the  letter : 

My  dear  Children  :  I  am  going  to  address  the  envelope  of  this 
letter  to  you,  and  if  the  Irishmen  in  the  post-office  at  Queenstown 
know  who  you  are  they  will  send  it  right  along.  ...  At  noon  the 
steamship  backed  out  into  the  river,  and  then  started  down  the  har- 
bor. When  she  was  abreast  of  the  Equitable  Building,  the  Equitable 
flag  was  lowered  and  hoisted  three  times,  and  the  ship  returned  this 
salute  by  blowing  her  whistle  three  times  and  dipping  her  flags  three 
times.  .  .  .  When  I  went  to  my  little  room  to  retire  for  the  night,  it 
was  very,  very  uneasy :  now  one  side  went  down  and  the  other  rolled 
up  ;  then  this  went  down  and  that  rolled  up,  so  that  it  was  very  hard 
work  to  undress.  After  a  while  my  berth  whirled  around  to  where 
I  was  standing,  when  I  waited  for  a  good  chance  and  jumped  in. 
The  big  engine  hammered  and  banged  away  all  night,  making  an 
awful  noise,  but  I  slept  for  all  that,  and  next  morning  I  felt  pretty 
well.  ...  I  will  try  to  tell  you  how  the  days  are  spent  at  sea. 
About  seven  o'clock  a  cup  of  coffee  is  brought  to  our  room,  and 
perhaps  we  eat  some  oranges.  Breakfast  is  on  the  table  at  eight 
o'clock.  We  are  sailing  east,  and  the  sun  rises  upon  us  half  an 
hour  earlier  every  day.  At  breakfast  the  captain's  white  cat  comes 
in  to  see  us ;  a  very  pretty  cat  she  is,  and  a  good  sailor.  A  gentle- 
man who  sits  opposite  to  me  at  the  table  has  made  a  sketch  of  puss 
which  I  shall  send  to  you  in  this  letter.  After  breakfast  the  passen- 
gers walk  on  deck  or  play  shovel-board  and  quoits.  At  one  o'clock 
we  have  a  luncheon.  Dinner  is  at  six  o'clock.  We  sit  at  the  captain's 
table.  ...  I  went  forward  among  the  steerage  passengers  one  day, 
when  a  boy  came  to  me  and  said :  "  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Hyde  ?  " 
I  knew  his  face,  but  did  not  know  where  I  had  seen  him.  He  said 
he  delivered  newspapers  to  our  house  last  year,  and  he  is  going  to 
England  to  see  his  mother.  .  .  .  Some  days  when  the  wind  is  fair 
all  the  sails  are  set.     The  sailors  pull  the  ropes  that  hoist  the  sails, 


126  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

singing  as  they  pull :  "  Hoo-ray!  up  she  rises,  hoo-ray!  up  she  rises, 
hoo-ray!  up  she  rises,  early  in  the  morning."  We  have  seen  a 
whale ! 

After  traveling  hither  and  thither  in  Europe,  Mr. 
Hyde  sailed  from  Marseilles  for  Egypt.  From  Alex- 
andria he  went  to  Cairo,  and  there  he  loitered  like  a 
traveler  at  leisure.  One  day  he  climbed  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Great  Pyramid ;  another  day  he  studied, 
from  the  back  of  a  donkey,  the  mystery  of  the  Sphinx's 
face  ;  occasionally  he  dined  on  the  dahabiyehs  of  New 
York  friends  who  were  bound  up  the  Nile ;  often  he 
spent  an  afternoon  in  the  veranda  of  his  hotel  watching 
the  procession  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  that 
passes  daily  along  the  street.  In  a  letter  to  his  family 
dated  at  Cairo,  December  14,  1878,  he  said: 

.  .  .  Let  me  describe  the  scene  now  before  me  while  I  am  sitting 
in  the  veranda  of  the  hotel.  Along  the  entire  front  of  the  house 
stretches  a  garden  containing  the  richest  of  tropical  trees,  shrubs,*  and 
plants  in  the  full  perfection  of  foliage  and  flower.  In  the  street  be- 
yond passes  a  carriage  in  which  is  seated  a  brilliantly  dressed  Egyp- 
tian officer,  a  fez,  of  course,  on  his  head ;  then  pass  carriages 
containing  ladies  dressed  in  rich  European  garments,  with  attendants 
in  lace  and  gold,  preceded  by  sices  dressed  in  flowing  white  robes, 
shouting  as  they  run  ahead  of  the  horses  to  clear  the  way.  Next 
comes  a  train  of  camels  laden  with  bales  of  straw,  raising  their  heads 
high  in  the  air,  and  wearing  an  expression  of  patience  that  tells  of 
their  solitary  home  in  the  desert.  Then  come  many  little  donkeys, 
some  of  them  bearing  riders  larger  and  heavier  than  themselves; 
then  women  so  veiled  that  only  their  eyes  can  be  seen ;  others  are 
carrying  children  astride  the  shoulders ;  white  Arabian  horses  trot 
by ;    then  pass  loud-talking  dragomans,  Nile  boatmen,  and  a  motley 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  127 

throng  of  people  from  various  lands — Bedouins  of  the  desert,  Nubi- 
ans, whose  faces  are  as  black  as  coal,  men  and  women  from  Eng- 
land and  America  wearing  the  Indian  topee,  or  white  turban,  the 
ends  falling  over  the  shoulders.  Beyond  the  street  is  a  large  park, 
where  a  military  band  is  playing.  Still  farther  beyond  are  the  quaint 
buildings  of  old  Cairo,  and  a  low  range  of  mountains,  and  a  blue 
sky — such  a  blue  as  is  not  to  be  seen  at  home. 

From  Cairo  Mr.  Hyde  traveled  to  Suez,  where  he 
took  passage  in  a  British  mail -steamer  for  Bombay. 
In  a  letter  dated  at  New  York,  December  20,  1887,  to 
one  whom  he  would  persuade  to  go  to  India,  he  said : 

...  I  am  up  to  my  eyes  in  business.  There  is  nothing  unusual 
about  that,  however ;  it  is  the  same  old  thing.  I  have  wished 
many  times  that  I  was  with  you  in  Italy  and  afterwards  in  Egypt. 
That  is  all  past  now,  and  I  am  back  in  the  general  grind  of  life. 

Your  last  postal  card  informs  me  that  you  have  changed  your 
mind  about  going  to  Egypt.  I  regret  this.  Of  course  there  are 
certain  disagreeable  troubles  there ;  and  if  you  catch  cold  it  is  liable 
to  affect  your  eyes.  However,  the  danger  is  not  great.  I  remem- 
ber when  I  was  in  Cairo  in  1878,  and  about  to  proceed  on  my  jour- 
ney, General  Batchelder  endeavored  to  get  me  to  change  my  mind 
and  not  go  any  farther.  With  stoical  indifference  I  went  on  to  Suez, 
and  there  embarked  for  Bombay,  intending  to  make  a  tour  in  India. 
I  have  always  been  glad  that  I  went.  I  found  India  as  healthy  as 
any  country  when  the  traveler  takes  care  of  himself,  and  one  or  two 
grains  of  quinine  daily.  Where  one  is  constantly  changing  his  ch- 
mate  and  food,  he  needs  a  tonic  such  as  that  to  equalize  the  burdens 
of  travel. 

If  you  go  to  Egypt,  and  ride  a  donkey  in  Cairo,  and  climb  the 
Great  Pyramid,  and  muse  over  the  Sphinx,  and  are  tricked  by  the 
silversmiths  in  the  bazaar,  and  think  you  have  seen  things  wonderful 
enough  for  a  lifetime,  go  to  India  and  find  how  mistaken  you  are. 
The  voyage  is  a  pleasure  cruise,  in  the  proper  season.  In  a  few 
days  you  have  passed  through  the  Red  Sea  and  are  at  Aden,  a  Brit- 


128  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

ish  harbor,  town,  and  fortress.  Then,  after  six  or  seven  days  of 
smooth  seas  and  balmy  winds,  you  greet  the  hghts  of  Bombay.  You 
will  find  many  interesting  things  there.  Railway  travel  is  more  com- 
fortable in  India  than  elsewhere.  From  Bombay  you  can  go  four- 
teen hundred  miles  across  to  Calcutta,  and  eight  hundred  miles  south- 
east to  Madras,  in  comfortable  trains. 

One  pleasant  trip  I  made  was  to  Naral,  a  station  about  three 
hours  from  Bombay,  where  I  mounted  a  pony  and  rode  eight  miles 
up  the  Ghauts  to  Matherran.  I  got  there  after  dark,  and  drove  to 
the  Chowk  Hotel,  where  I  was  hospitably  entertained  by  the  Eng- 
lish landlord,  who,  having  no  other  guests,  gave  me  comfortable 
apartments  and  good  food.  I  rode  out  on  horseback  at  sunrise  next 
day,  and  saw  from  one  of  the  points  of  the  mountain  the  most 
charming  landscape  that  I  ever  looked  upon.  Just  below  me,  on  a 
rock,  sat  an  enormous  monkey,  her  young  grouped  behind  her  and 
ready  to  scamper  up  a  tree  if  I  showed  any  hostile  intentions.  She 
looked  at  me  as  if  to  ask  who  I  was  and  what  I  was  doing  there.  It 
is  one  of  the  charms  of  travel  in  India  that  you  meet  with  people 
whom  you  never  met  before,  and  with  people  who  never  heard  of 
you!      Go  to  India,  by  all  means. 

At  last  Mr.  Hyde  learned  that  his  friend  and  corre- 
spondent (who  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Equitable 
Society)  had  traveled  so  far  as  Cairo.  Now  he  would 
entice  the  traveler  to  go  farther  east ;  and  writing  to 
him,  February  ii,  1888,  he  said: 

I  find  that  it  was  in  the  week  before  Christmas  that  I  wrote  to 
you,  and  if  you  knew  what  a  busy  place  my  office  is  when  we  are 
turning  our  steps  into  the  highway  of  the  new  year,  you  will  say  that 
I  have  had  reason  to  lay  aside  letter-writing  for  a  while. 

I  know  that  home  letters  are  valuable  to  a  traveler  in  strange 
lands  ;  and  I  remember  being  struck  by  some  homesick  words  (I  wish 
I  could  recall  them)  which  are  engraved  in  the  stone  lintel  of  the 
door  of  the  Enghsh  post-office  at  Hongkong,  touching  those  who 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  129 

wait  for  news  from  a  far  country.^  If  any  pleasure  or  comfort  can 
be  carried  to  you  by  a  letter  from  me,  I  am  glad  to  stop  the  machinery 
of  business  for  a  while  that  I  may  write. 

A  letter  recently  received  from  you  tells  me  that  you  have  gone 
no  farther  than  Egypt.  Yet  when  a  traveler  gets  to  Egypt  there  is 
no  telling  where  next  he  may  appear.  It  may  be  that  some  influence 
will  yet  carry  you  to  the  Suliman  Mountains,  as  something  started 
me,  one  Christmas  morning,  from  Cairo  to  Suez  and  beyond.  I 
remember  that  bright  morning — to  think  of  it  now  is  a  pleasure — 
when  I  and  my  companion  got  into  a  carriage  standing  in  front  of 
the  hotel,  and  said  to  the  driver,  "  Take  us  to  the  Suez  train."  Did 
we  think  of  the  children  of  Israel  who  began  their  wanderings  in  the 
same  direction  afoot?  It  was  a  resolute  thing  for  us  to  do,  and  with 
the  chance  that  Pharaoh,  in  the  shape  of  homesickness,  might  pursue 
us.  I  remember  to  this  day,  while  the  train  was  running  toward  the 
Red  Sea,  white  herons  standing  by  the  streams  of  Goshen  looked  at 
us ;  and  camels  yoked  to  wooden  plows  looked  at  us ;  and  blue- 
gowned  men  sowing  seed  in  the  fields  looked  at  us ;  and  two 
women  grinding  at  a  mill  looked  at  us;  and  fellaheen  making 
bricks  with  chopped  straw  looked  at  us ;  and  naked  boys  selling 
unleavened  bread  looked  at  us;  and  the  date-palms  and  orange- 
groves  and  sugar-canes  of  that  fertile  land  looked  at  us.  Then 
we  came  to  the  desert,  and  we  had  a  gleam  from  the  Bitter 
Lakes,  and  on  the  horizon  we  saw  the  outlines  of  a  ship  going 
through  the  great  canal ;  and  then  we  reached  Suez  just  as  the  new 
moon  appeared  with  Jupiter  in  its  crescent. 

The  business  of  the  Equitable — would  you  like  to  know  about 
it? — has  proved  to  be  much  larger  than  we  had  anticipated  a  year 
ago.  There  never  has  been  anything  like  it ;  and  still  the  business 
is  coming  in  more  copiously  than  last  year.  We  shall  have  our 
Annual  Statement  in  print  before  this  reaches  you,  but  I  don't  believe 
you  will  want  to  sit  down  under  the  palm-trees  before  breakfast  and 
read  it.  As  to  our  new  building,  which  is  neither  a  Pyramid  of 
Gizeh  nor  the  Taj  Mahal,  but  the  greatest  commercial  edifice  in  the 
United   States  of  North  America,  I  can  say  that  the  workmen  are 

'  "As  cold  waters  to  a  thirsty  soul,  so  is  good  news  from 
a  far  country." — Prov.  xxv.  25. 


I30  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

nearly  out  of  it,  and  when  the  last  man  has  gone  we  shall  soon  be 
quiet  and  in  good  order  throughout  the  Equitable  office. 

From  Bombay  Mr.  Hyde  journeyed  to  Allahabad. 
Here,  mounted  on  an  elephant  loaned  to  him  at  the 
British  cantonment,  he  visited  the  sacred  festival  of  the 
Hindus  at  the  point  where  the  Jumna  River  flows  into 
the  Ganges.  Then  he  traveled  northward,  tarrying  at 
Cawnpore,  Lucknow,  Delhi,  and  so  on  to  Umballa, 
whence  he  rode  in  a  galloping  mail-cart  ninety-five 
miles  up  the  mountains  to  Simla  and  the  region  of 
snows.  This  ride  was  done  in  ten  hours,  a  fresh  pair 
of  ponies  being  taken  at  each  five-mile  station.  Re- 
turning southward,  he  made  a  long  stay  at  Agra  to 
enjoy  the  delicate  beauty  of  the  Taj  Mahal.  From 
Agra  he  went  to  Benares,  and  there  he  took  another 
ride  on  the  back  of  an  elephant.  He  spent  some 
time  at  Calcutta ;  thence,  by  way  of  Madras,  he  sailed 
to  Ceylon. 

Writing,  after  his  return  home,  to  one  who  had  enter- 
tained him  in  Bombay,  he  said : 

...  I  often  think  of  the  morning  I  spent  at  your  delightful  bun- 
galow on  Malabar  Hill.  I  sailed  from  Calcutta  to  Madras  and 
Point  de  Galle,  and  have  regretted  that  I  did  not  stay  longer  in 
Ceylon.  My  visit  was  hurried,  as  we  were  tempted  by  the  fine 
steamer  Aiiadyr  of  the  French  Mail  to  hasten  away  after  we  had 
been  ashore  less  than  a  week.  I  must  go  there  again  sometime  and 
stay  two  or  three  months,  for  Ceylon  appears  to  me  to  be  the  most 
beautiful  part  of  the  world  that  we  visited.  Perhaps  it  is  more 
beautiful  to  a  traveler  than  to  any  one  else. 


THE    EQUITABLE    BUILDING 

Completed  in  iSSS 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  131 

From  Ceylon  Mr.  Hyde  sailed  eastward,  stopping  at 
Singapore,  Saigon,  and  Hongkong.  From  the  latter 
city  he  went  to  Canton,  and  was  entertained  for  a 
week  at  the  dwelling-house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas 
of  London,  on  the  island  of  Shamein  in  the  river  oppo- 
site the  city,  with  which  the  island  is  connected  by  a 
bridge.  After  he  reached  home  he  wrote  to  his  hosts 
a  letter,  dated  September  30.  1879: 

My  dear  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  :  After  I  left  you  I  visited 
Shanghai,  and  then  spent  more  than  a  month  in  Japan.  We  rode  in 
jinrikishas  from  Kioto  to  Yokohama,  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
in  six  days.  We  had  a  comfortable  voyage  of  seventeen  days  from 
Yokohama  to  San  Francisco.  I  reached  home  from  my  journey 
around  the  world  in  midsummer,  but  I  confess  that  I  have  not  yet 
lost  the  excitement  of  travel  nor  become  entirely  accustomed  to  the 
routine  of  business  again.  I  suppose  that  time  will  finally  convince 
me  that  I  am  no  longer  a  traveler,  and  am  not  going  to  Canton  any 
more ;  although  I  shall  resist  such  unwelcome  convictions  as  long  as 
possible.  I  have  a  great  desire  to  return  to  China,  and  to  ramble 
again  through  the  shops  of  Canton,  to  lunch  again  in  pagodas  by 
candle-light,  traverse  the  walls  and  narrow  streets  of  that  quaint  city 
in  our  long  line  of  chairs  under  guidance  of  Mac  and  the  lanterns 
of  Thomas  and  Mercer.  I  do  not  intend  to  give  up  the  hope  that  I 
shall  be  able  again  to  make  a  journey  around  the  world.  One  has 
to  go  once  to  learn  the  way ;  and  one  ought  to  go  a  second  time  to 
improve  upon  what  has  been  learned. 

Mr.  Hyde  reached  home  in  June,  1879.  He  had 
been  traveling  for  nine  months,  and  had  become  a  new 
man  in  appearance  and  in  reality.  His  health  was  now 
good,  and  his  laugh  was  heartier  than  ever.  In  the 
December  after  his  return,  Mr.  Julien  T.  Davies  invited 


132  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

him  to  go  to  North  CaroHna  on  a  "fishing- trip."  His 
reply  was : 

My  dear  Julien  :  If  you  would  propose  something  like  a  run  to 
Calcutta,  I  am  on  hand.  But  these  Httle  spiuts  into  the  provinces 
for  a  day  or  two!  Why,  my  dear  fellow,  you  and  I  are  worthy  of 
nobler  game.  What  do  you  say  to  a  fishing  and  shooting  excursion 
to  Australia,  December  31,  Grand  Central  Depot,  Pacific  Express 
train,  6  p.m.?  Think  of  it,  my  dear  fellow,  and  tell  me  if  you  will 
be  there. 

In  January,  1880,  Mr.  Hyde  wrote  to  one  in  London 
who  had  been  a  fellow-passenger  across  the  Pacific 
Ocean : 

...  I  look  back  upon  my  journey  as  a  delightful  dream.  After 
all,  it  is  not  such  a  great  distance  around  the  world.  We  start  off 
with  the  thought  that  the  journey  is  a  tremendous  undertaking,  and 
perhaps  it  is ;  but  it  is  so  easily  accomplished  that,  in  the  retrospect, 
it  does  not  seem  to  be  much  of  an  affair. 

And  in  the  same  year  he  wrote  to  a  business  asso- 
ciate who  was  traveling  in  the  East:  "I  was  glad  to 
hear  that  you  had  reached  India  on  your  way  to  China, 
and  that  you  were  enjoying  the  Taj.  You  are  on  a 
pleasant  journey.  My  visit  to  India  gave  me  much 
satisfaction,  and,  in  addition  to  my  improved  health,  I 
find  myself  almost  daily  reviewing  the  interesting  scenes 
through  which  I  passed." 


CHAPTER   XVIII 


PERSONAL    CHARM 


There  were  two  sides  to  Mr.  Hyde:  one,  that  of 
the  man  of  business ;  the  other,  the  man  away  from 
business.  In  the  former  the  whole  commercial  com- 
munity knew  him  as  the  incarnation  of  labor ;  in  the* 
latter,  few  but  his  intimates  knew  him.  He  confined 
his  public  life  to  the  Society.  It  pleased  him  to  say 
that  but  a  few  of  those  who  had  a  knowledge  of  his 
achievements  recognized  him  on  the  street.  From  his 
earliest  days  he  deprecated  show  and  ostentation,  and 
at  all  times  he  was  simple  in  his  tastes.  When  away 
from  the  office  and  its  cares  of  management,  he  exhib- 
ited a  charm  of  manner  and  an  attractiveness  that  were 
alluring  and  winsome.  Secretary  Alexander  says : 
**  Those  who  knew  him  only  when  he  was  in  New  York, 
when  the  cares  of  office  pressed  upon  his  thoughts,  knew 
him  very  imperfectly.  To  understand  the  breadth  and 
depth  of  his  character  it  was  necessary  to  be  with  him 
at  times  when,  having  resigned  to  his  associates  the 
responsibility  of  conducting  the  business,  he  was  able 

^33 


134  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

to  throw  care  to  the  winds,  and  went  far  afield  for  rest 
and  recreation.  It  was  my  privilege  in  those  early- 
days  to  accompany  him  on  many  such  excursions,  and 
I  have  never  known  a  more  genial,  entertaining,  con- 
siderate, and  instructive  traveling  companion  than  he. 
He  was  a  man  who  could  never  be  idle.  His  active 
mind  was  necessarily  always  on  the  alert ;  and  the 
movement  and  change  of  travel,  the  interest  of  seeing 
new  places  and  new  people,  made  it  to  him  the  best  and 
most  enjoyable  form  of  relaxation.  His  conversations 
at  such  times  about  men  and  things  and  books  and 
philosophy  and  art,  about  statesmanship  and  history 
and  the  conflicts  of  nations,  were  never  commonplace, 
but  always  intensely  interesting  and  instructive.  At 
such  times  his  reminiscences  of  his  business  experi- 
ences, as  well  as  of  his  projects  for  the  future,  were 
eminently  instructive  and  inspiring,  and  were  given 
with  an  open  frankness  which  was  full  of  charm." 

Mr.  Hyde  was  a  good  man  to  travel  with.  He 
was  ready  to  rough  it  when  necessary,  but  when  on  a 
journey  he  always  made  himself  and  his  companions 
as  comfortable  as  circumstances  would  permit — and 
circumstances  were  usually  forced  to  permit.  He  pre- 
ferred plain,  nourishing  food,  and  always  got  the  best 
there  was  to  be  had.  When  he  arrived  at  an  out-of- 
the-way  place,  if  there  was  any  doubt  about  the  re- 
sources of  the  local  hotel,  he  would  forage  about  the 
town,  visit  the  market,  look  into  the  principal  shops, 


•^3*   Mt> 


AT    SIXTV    YEARS    OF    AGE 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  135 

lay  in  a  dozen  or  two  of  new-laid  eggs,  and  finally 
coerce  the  leading  butcher  into  selling  him  a  thick 
steak  firom  his  best  roast  of  beef.  If  there  were 
oysters  to  be  had  (and  he  was  exceedingly  fond  of 
them),  he  would  select  the  largest  and  best  in  the 
market,  and  order  them  sent  forthwith  to  the  hotel  at 
which  he  was  stopping. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  an  industrious  reader ;  he  possessed 
a  keen  love  of  knowledge,  and  found  genuine  pleasure 
and  diversion  in  books.  Although  on  all  subjects  of 
public  and  political  interest  he  formed  strong  impres- 
sions, he  was  loath  to  put  forward  his  views,  except  to 
those  immediately  surrounding  him.  His  conversa- 
tion was  interesting  and  instructive,  and  particularly 
so  when  he  spoke  of  the  history,  people,  and  products 
of  other  lands.  Although  by  disposition  he  was  natu- 
rally sociable,  fond  of  anecdotes  and  illustrative  stories, 
his  life  was  passed  in  a  somewhat  confined  path  by 
reason  of  his  devotion  to  the  great  enterprise  in  which 
his  life  was  spent. 

"  I  always  found,"  said  Mr.  James  W.  Alexander, 
*'  Mr.  Hyde  a  kind  and  indulgent  friend  to  all  who 
were  faithful  and  diligent ;  but  he  was  hard  and  inex- 
orable toward  the  unfaithful  and  lazy.  No  man  could 
ever  hold  his  friendship  and  support  who  was  not 
efficient  and  honest.  He  judged  men  by  the  results 
of  their  work,  and  not  by  their  good  intentions.  He 
had  not  the  habit  of  resorting  to  many  resources  out- 


136  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

side  of  the  Equitable  Society  for  pleasure.  It  was 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  reasons  for  his  great  success 
that  he  was  a  man  of  one  idea.  '  This  one  thing  I  do,' 
was  a  favorite  motto  of  his.  It  was  the  Equitable  So- 
ciety morning,  noon,  and  night,  day  in  and  day  out. 
When  he  went  home,  or  walked  or  rode  for  exercise, 
he  was  apt  to  engage  in  reflection  about  what  mea- 
sures could  be  taken  to  benefit  the  Equitable  Society ; 
and  it  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  causes  which  brought 
his  life  to  an  earlier  end  than  would  otherwise  have 
been  the  case,  that  he  permitted  himself  so  little  diver- 
sion and  change  of  thought." 

"One  morning,"  says  Secretary  Alexander,  "not 
many  years  before  his  death,  on  a  legal  holiday  when 
the  ofiice  was  closed,  Mr.  Hyde  summoned  me  to  his 
house  in  Fortieth  Street  to  go  over  the  proof  of  an 
advertisement  prepared  for  insertion  in  several  of  the 
principal  monthly  magazines.  Up  to  that  time  the 
Society  had  not  advertised  in  the  magazines,  and 
the  venture  was  something  of  an  experiment.  On  my 
arrival,  he  hastily  gathered  up  the  proofs  and  hurried 
with  me  from  the  house,  explaining  that  his  wife  had 
urged  him  to  leave  his  business  down-town ;  that  he 
had  promised  to  be  good,  and  that  he  did  not  wish  it 
to  be  known  that  he  was  misbehaving. 

"As  soon  as  we  had  effected  our  escape,  it  was 
obvious  that  no  thought  had  been  given  to  our  place 
of  retreat ;  so,  figuratively  speaking,  after  circling  once 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  137 

or  twice  we  lighted  in  the  smoking-room  of  the  Murray 
Hill  Hotel,  on  Park  Avenue.  Here,  in  a  small  room, 
overheated,  with  no  ventilation,  crowded  with  men 
who  were  smoking  as  they  read  their  morning  papers, 
we  whispered  for  an  hour  or  two.  We  had  not  taken 
off  our  overcoats,  nor  had  we  removed  our  hats.  As 
for  me,  I  was  in  a  fever ;  my  head  swam,  and  I  gasped 
for  breath ;  but  his  intellectual  powers  were  concen- 
trated upon  the  advertisement,  and  he  was  oblivious  to 
his  surroundings. 

"Although  I  now  have  a  very  dim  recollection  of 
the  language  or  form  of  the  advertisement,  I  have  a 
vivid  remembrance  of  the  fact  that  he  strengthened 
and  improved  it,  and  gave  it  a  life  and  force  and  vivid 
character  which  it  had  lacked.  It  is  fair  to  explain 
that  if  he  had  known  in  advance  that  so  much  time  was 
to  be  occupied  in  the  correction  of  this  proof  he  would 
have  engaged  a  private  room  where  the  business  could 
have  been  attended  to  in  a  comfortable  way;  but  at  the 
start  the  advertisement  was  supposed  to  be  satisfac- 
tory, Mr.  Hyde  had  already  approved  it  in  the  manu- 
script, and  he  believed  that  he  only  wished  to  pass 
upon  its  appearance  and  satisfy  himself  of  its  accu- 
racy. The  order  to  print  had  been  given;  indeed,  one 
of  the  magazines  was  to  go  to  press  early  the  next 
morning.  But  Mr.  Hyde's  imagination  had  been 
working  through  the  night,  and  he  saw  clearly  that 
there  was  still  room  for  improvement ;  and  where  there 


138  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

was  room  for  improvement  he  never  failed  to  improve. 
Finally,  after  the  proof  had  been  covered  all  over  with 
amendments  and  additions,  I  was  sent  down  to  Park 
Row  to  the  office  of  the  advertising  agent  who  had 
the  mechanical  part  of  the  work  in  charge.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  it  was  a  holiday,  the  nature  of 
this  agent's  work  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  be  at 
his  post,  and  the  result  was  that,  although  Mr.  Hyde 
lost  half  his  holiday,  and  although  he  went  home 
wearied  in  mind  and  body,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  advertisement  in  the  various  magazines 
precisely  as  he  wished  it  to  appear." 

At  first  blush  it  may  seem  a  waste  of  time  to  dwell 
upon  so  trifling  an  incident  as  this,  but  it  is  for  this 
very  reason  that  it  has  been  selected.  Nothing  about 
the  Equitable  was  trivial  to  Mr.  Hyde.  Most  presi- 
dents would  have  left  such  details  to  the  advertising 
agent,  but  not  so  with  him.  He  was  as  solicitous 
about  the  form  of  every  advertisement  as  a  lapidary  is 
about  the  cutting  of  a  diamond.  In  the  same  way, 
every  prospectus  issued  by  the  Society  was  either 
written  by  him  or  carefully  revised  by  him.  The 
books  and  pamphlets  published  from  time  to  time 
were  usually  prepared  in  the  first  instance  by  some  one 
else ;  if  not  satisfied  with  the  first  draft,  he  would 
sometimes  throw  the  whole  composition  aside,  and 
dictate  to  a  shorthand  writer  something  absolutely 
new  and  original,   perhaps  utilizing   the  best  of  the 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  139 

material  originally  prepared.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  he  carefully  scrutinized  every  item  of  the  So- 
ciety's Annual  Statement  as  it  was  developed,  for 
an  annual  statement  illustrates  the  character  of  the 
management  of  each  company  issuing  it,  and  reveals 
its  progress  for  the  year ;  but  it  is  significant  that  he 
gave  as  much  attention  to  the  typographical  appear- 
ance of  the  Statement,  when  set  up  as  an  advertise- 
ment for  insertion  in  the  papers,  as  he  gave  to  its 
details. 


CHAPTER   XIX 


THE   END 


In  the  spring  of  1898  Mr.  Hyde  was  seized  with 
an  attack  of  inflammatory  rheumatism,  from  which 
he  ralHed,  but  which  left  his  heart  in  an  enfeebled 
condition.  He  deemed  it  prudent,  therefore,  to  aban- 
don altogether,  for  the  time  being,  the  cares  and 
responsibilities  of  business,  with  the  hope  and  expec- 
tation of  a  complete  restoration  to  health.  For  a 
year  he  enjoyed  absolute  rest,  Vice-President  Alex- 
ander serving  during  the  whole  of  that  period  as  act- 
ing president  of  the  Society.  Mr.  Hyde  spent  the 
summer  of  1898  in  Saratoga,  and  returned  in  the 
autumn  greatly  strengthened  and  refreshed.  His 
mind  was  clear ;  his  intellectual  faculties  retained  all 
their  marvelous  freshness  and  alertness.  He  expressed 
the  liveliest  interest  in  the  successful  progress  of  the 
Society,  and  looked  forward  with  great  interest  to 
the  approaching  anniversary,  knowing  that  the  So- 
ciety had  already  on  its  books  one  thotisand  million 
dollars   of  assurance  in  force.       He   looked  forward 

140 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  141 

with  pleasant  anticipation  to  the  coming  event  which 
would  so  grandly  commemorate  his  life's  work.  His 
friends  looked  forward  with  renewed  hope  to  his  com- 
plete restoration  to  health  ;  but  this  was  not  to  be. 
The  sands  were  running  in  Time's  hour-glass ;  and 
the  heart,  worn  by  years  of  incessant  toil,  gave  indica- 
tions of  his  approaching  end.  As  the  winter  of  1898- 
1899  drew  to  a  close,  he  suffered  a  relapse,  and  on 
May  2,  1899,  Henry  Baldwin  Hyde  passed  quietly 
and  peacefully  away,  surrounded  by  his  family. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  had  so  builded  the 
Equitable  Society  that  it  rested  on  his  energy  alone, 
or  that  it  was  as  a  ship  without  a  navigator  when 
inclination  or  necessity  occasioned  his  absence.  In- 
deed, it  will  be  remembered  that  in  1884  he  said:  "  Per- 
sons have  very  often  said  to  me,  '  The  Society  stands 
very  well  now,  but  you  may  drop  off  some  day  ;  what 
then  ?  '  .  .  .  I  believe  this  company  is  well  officered,  .  .  . 
and  I  feel  that  in  Vice-President  James  W.  Alexander 
you  have  a  gentleman  who  at  any  time  is  fully  quali- 
fied to  take  the  presidency  of  the  Society." 

In  his  son,  James  H.  Hyde,  he  foresaw  the  length- 
ening out  of  his  own  life  after  his  days  of  work  were 
ended.  He  had  trained  him  in  the  theory  and  practice 
of  life  assurance,  and  carefully  prepared  him  for  the 
office  of  second  vice-president  of  the  Society,  to  which 
position,  after  his  graduation  from  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, his  father  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  elected, 


142  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

by  the  Board  of  Directors,  on  November  2,  1898; 
and  in  1899,  after  his  father's  death,  he  was  elected 
vice-president. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Henry  B.  Hyde  produced 
a  profound  impression  upon  the  financial,  industrial, 
and  social  worlds.  Flags  on  the  buildings  of  all 
life  assurance  companies  and  fiduciary  institutions 
were  placed  at  half-mast.  The  entrance  to  the  Equi- 
table Building  was  draped  with  black  crape,  and  other 
institutions  paid  a  similar  tribute  to  his  memory. 

On  Friday  morning,  May  5,  1899,  a  simple  but 
impressive  funeral  service  was  held  in  New  York, 
at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  corner  of 
Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifty-fifth  Street.  The  assembly 
that  filled  the  church  included  a  large  number  of 
distinguished  persons,  the  Board  of  Directors,  repre- 
sentatives of  the  domestic  and  foreign  agents  of  the 
Equitable  Society,  and  upwards  of  three  hundred  of  the 
Society's  clerks.  The  Rev.  Henry  van  Dyke,  D.D., 
officiated.  The  pall-bearers  were  James  W.  Alexander, 
John  Sloane,  Senator  Depew,  General  Louis  Fitz- 
gerald, William  A.  Wheelock,  Marcellus  Hartley, 
President  Richard  A.  McCurdy  of  the  Mutual  Life, 
and  President  John  A.  McCall  of  the  New  York  Life. 

At  Woodlawn  Cemetery  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ralph  L. 
Brydges  of  Islip,  an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Hyde's  family, 
read  the  service  committing  the  body  to  the  grave. 


CHAPTER   XX 


PUBLIC    RECOGNITION 


A  SPECIAL  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Equitable  Society  was  held  May  lo,  1899.  At  that 
meeting  the  following  minute,  submitted  by  the  Hon. 
Chauncey  M.  Depew,  was  unanimously  adopted : 

RESOLUTIONS   ADOPTED   BY   THE   DIRECTORS    OF   THE 
EQUITABLE    SOCIETY 

We  mourn  the  loss  of  the  founder  of  the  Equitable 
Life  Assurance  Society.  We  are  thankful  that  he 
lived  to  enjoy  its  marvelous  success.  He  laid  its 
foundation  and  was  both  its  architect  and  builder. 
He  entered  the  field  with  many  competitors.  Most 
of  them  failed  or  retired  from  business.  In  the  race 
for  strength,  influence,  world-wide  connections,  sol- 
vency, and  beneficence,  Mr.  Hyde  put  this  company 
in  the  front  rank  among  those  which  survived.  The 
history  of  the  Society  is  the  story  of  his  life.  He 
effaced  himself  for  the  institution  he  loved  so  dearly 
and  served  so  faithfully.  The  same  intuition,  skill, 
and  energy  devoted  to  his  private  affairs  would  have 

143 


144 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


given  him  position  among  the  few  superlatively  rich 
men  of  the  world.  The  interests  of  the  Equitable 
were  always  of  infinitely  greater  care  with  him  than 
his  private  business.  He  deliberately  chose  to  fos- 
ter, expand,  and  strengthen  the  Equitable  rather 
than  make  or  leave  a  large  fortune  for  his  family. 
He  was  in  a  high  sense  a  philanthropist  and  bene- 
factor. His  company  during  its  forty  years  of  exis- 
tence has  paid  to  those  who  trusted  to  it  their  savings 
for  the  safety  of  their  families  $307,000,000,  and 
it  holds  $265,000,000  for  its  many  policy-holders. 
This  unparalleled  result  was  the  work  of  Henry  B. 
Hyde.  No  fortune  of  $200,000,000  was  ever  piled 
up  in  a  single  life.  But  our  president,  from  the  age 
of  twenty-five  to  sixty-five,  accumulated  for  the  So- 
ciety $572,000,000.  This  sum  not  only  far  exceeds 
the  greatest  fortune  of  the  most  famous  financiers, 
but  is  $275,000,000  more  than  any  other  life  com- 
pany has  gathered  within  the  corresponding  period 
of  its  history. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  both  conservative  and  adventurous. 
He  formed  his  plans  with  patience  and  care.  He 
provided  for  every  possible  contingency  within  the 
ken  of  human  foresight.  Like  every  conqueror,  he 
never  doubted  nor  turned  back.  He  moved  upon 
the  lines  laid  out  with  such  speed  and  boldness  as 
often  to  alarm  his  friends  and  associates.  But  the 
plans  which  might  have  failed  in  weaker  hands 
materialized  as  they  had  been  arranged  by  this  mas- 
terful genius.  His  quickness  in  grasping  a  situation 
and  his  resourcefulness  in  meeting  it  were  invaluable 
in  time  of  panic  and  financial  revulsions,  of  which  so 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  145 

many  and  such  disastrous  ones  happened  during  his 
career.  Other  companies  might  be  crippled  or  go 
under,  but  the  Equitable  always  came  out  the  richer. 
He  possessed  the  faculty  of  great  leadership,  the  abil- 
ity to  select  the  best  men  for  his  cabinet  and  as  cap- 
tains. His  judgment  was  faultless  in  choosing  those 
who  must  be  entrusted  with  great  responsibilities. 
He  was  merciless  to  failure,  but  generous  to  extrava- 
gance in  recognition  of  signal  services.  He  bound 
able  men  to  him  and  his  company  by  a  personal 
loyalty  and  devotion  which  won  from  them  far  more 
energetic  and  concentrated  effort  than  money  could 
buy.  Though  in  the  prime  of  life  and  powers,  and 
with  a  future  as  full  of  possibilities  as  his  past  when 
he  died,  yet  he  was  already  the  foremost  man  of  his 
profession,  and  the  creator  of  the  most  remarkably 
successful  financial  institution  in  the  world. 

Those  of  us  who  knew  him  longest  and  best 
appreciated  better  than  any  others,  by  reason  of 
this  closer  contact,  his  genius,  his  executive  ability, 
and  his  fidelity  to  this  trust.  But  with  our  admira- 
tion for  the  officer  and  administrator  grew  a  pro- 
found respect  and  tender  love  for  the  man.  A 
bigger  heart  and  sweeter  nature  never  existed 
with  such  conquering  qualities  of  mind.  Broad 
in  intellect,  generous  in  his  friendships,  public- 
spirited  as  a  citizen,  a  model  father,  husband,  and 
son,  the  world  has  seldom  held  a  nobler  man  than 
Henry  B.  Hyde. 

At  the   meeting  at  which   the   foregoing  minute  was 
adopted  Mr.  James  W.  Alexander  was  elected  presi- 


146  HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 

dent  of  the   Society,   and   Mr.  James   H.   Hyde  was 
elected  vice-president. 

The  general  agents  resident  in  New  York  city,  con- 
stituting the  "Metropolitan  Department"  of  the  So- 
ciety, held  a  meeting  and  adopted  resolutions,  from 
which  the  following  paragraphs  are  quoted : 

RESOLUTIONS   OF   THE   AGENTS   IN   NEW   YORK   CITY 

While  we  pause  to  pay  this  slight  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  our  great  president,  his  unequaled  ability 
in  the  profession  of  life  assurance,  his  indomitable 
energy,  his  master  mind  that  conceived  the  true 
reforms  that  have  been  engrafted  in  the  business, 
we  cannot  fail  to  record  his  uniform  kindness,  con- 
sideration, and  loyal  support  of  every  faithful  and 
upright  manager,  general  agent,  and  agent,  who 
have  in  all  the  forty  years  of  the  history  of  the 
Equitable  Society  been  privileged  to  serve  its  inter- 
ests. Surely  if  he  now  could  speak  to  us,  his  mes- 
sage would  be  to  each  and  every  representative  of 
the  Society:  "Faithfully,  loyally,  honorably,  and 
energetically  continue  to  serve  the  interests  of  the 
Equitable,  and  thereby  you  will  best  honor  my 
memory." 

To  our  vice-president,  James  H.  Hyde,  Esq., 
we  express  our  special  sympathy  and  conviction 
that  the  mantle  of  his  honored  father,  as  a  suc- 
cessful life  insurance  officer,  will  rest  gracefully  on 
his  shoulders. 


A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  147 

The  following  are  extracts  from  resolutions  passed 
at  a  meeting  of  the  great  body  of  the  general  agents 
of  the  Society,  outside  of  the  "  Metropolitan  District "  : 

We  need  not  refer  to  the  masterly  ability  of  Henry  B. 
Hyde,  for  the  Equitable  Society  stands  a  living 
monument  to  his  memory.  The  millions  of  people 
who  are  interested  in  life  assurance  must  acknow- 
ledge the  debt  due  to  his  skill  and  sagacity. 

It  is  fitting,  however,  that  we  should  record  some 
sense  of  the  loss  we  have  sustained  by  the  death  of 
one  who  justly  earned  the  name  of  friend  of  the 
agents,  and  who  always  strove  for  their  success. 
His  ripe  experience  and  constant  helpfulness  in  our 
ranks  proved  his  claim  to  the  title.  Recognized  as 
the  most  eminent  of  life  assurance  workers,  he  al- 
ways kept  in  touch  with  us,  even  in  our  most  remote 
fields  of  labor.  Carrying,  in  heart  and  mind,  the 
responsibilities  attached  to  his  exalted  position, 
allowing  no  detail  of  management  to  escape  his 
notice,  he  was  continually  visiting,  counseling,  en- 
couraging, and  inspiring  us.  His  personal  magnet- 
ism, precept,  and  example  have  spurred  many  a  dis- 
heartened agent  to  success. 


At  the  time  of  Mr.  Hyde's  death  only  six  of  the  ori- 
ginal members  of  the  Board  of  Directors  remained, 
namely,  Dr.  Edward  W.  Lambert,  Henry  M.  Alexander, 


148 


HENRY    BALDWIN    HYDE 


Henry  G.  Marquand,  Alanson  Trask,  J.  F.  de  Navarro, 
and  Thomas  S.  Young.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the 
present  Board: 


James  W.  Alexander, 
Louis  Fitzgerald, 
Chauncey  M.  Depew, 
Wm.  a.  Wheelock, 
Marcellus  Hartley, 
Henry  G.  Marquand, 
Cornelius  N.  Bliss, 
George  H.  Squire, 
Thomas  D.  Jordan, 
Charles  S.  Smith, 
Edward  W.  Lambert, 
Wm.  Alexander, 
John  J.  McCook, 
Alanson  Trask, 
C.  Ledyard  Blair, 
Brayton  Ives, 
Melville  E.  Ingalls, 


James  H.  Hyde, 
John  A.  Stewart, 
Jacob  H.  Schiff, 
A.  J.  Cassatt, 
T.  Jefferson  Coolidge, 
John  Jacob  Astor, 
Sir  Wm.  C.  Van  Horne, 
Gage  E.  Tarbell, 
Marvin  Hughitt, 
Henry  C.  Frick, 
C.  B.  Alexander, 
T.  De  Witt  Cuyler, 
E.  H.  Harriman, 
Sidney  D.  Ripley, 
Geo.  W.  Carletox, 
J.  F.  DE  Navarro, 
Thomas  S.  Young, 


Levi  P,  Morton, 
August  Belmont, 
Wm.  a.  Tower, 
D,  O.  Mills, 
Robt.  T.  Lincoln, 
Geo.  J.  Gould, 
John  Sloane, 
Geo.  T.  Wilson, 
Thomas  T.  Eckert, 
H.  M.  Alexander, 
Samuel  M.  Inman, 
H.  C.  Haarstick, 
Wm.  H.  McIntyre, 
David  H.  Moffat, 
V.  P.  Snyder, 
Wm.  H.  Baldwin,  Jr., 
Joseph  T.  Low. 


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APPENDIX 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Reminiscences  of  the  Presidents  of  the  Companies 
named   below  : 

The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society 153 

The  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company 162 

The  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company 164 

The  Travelers'  Insurance  Company .166 

The  Metropolitan  Life  Insiurance  Company 168 

Reminiscences  of  Dr.  Edward  W,  Lambert,  a  member  of 
the  original  Board  of  Directors,  and  chief  of  the  medical 
staff  of  the  Society 174 

Reminiscences   of   the   Oldest  Living   Members  of  the 
Society's  Office  Force  : 
James  B.  Loring,  the  first  clerk  employed  in  the  office,  now 

registrar  of  the  Society 176 

Thomas  D.  Jordan,  the  second  clerk  employed  in  the  office, 

now  controller  of  the  Society 176 

Thomas  H.  Cuming,  charged  originally  with  the  custody  of 

the  policy  records 177 

F.  H.  Fenning,  of  the  policy  department 178 

Alfred  W.  Maine,  associate  auditor  of  the  Society      .     .     .178 
Francis  W.  Jackson,  the  first  bookkeeper,  now  auditor  of 

the  Society ......  180 

151 


152  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

William  H.  Bridgman,  formerly  an  agent,  now  identified 
with  the  office  force i8i 

William  Root  Bliss,  the  friend  who  accompanied  Mr.  Hyde 
on  his  journey  round  the  world,  and  still  a  member  of  the 
office  force 185 

Reminiscences  of  the  Oldest  Living  Agents  of  the  Equi- 
table Society 191 

Reminiscences  of  Charles  C.  Bombaugh,  Insurance  Jour- 
nalist   200 

Reminiscences  of  Charles  D.  Lakey,  Insurance  JournaHst  .  202 

Resolutions    of    Corporations    and    other    Bodies,    in 
Reference  to  Mr.  Hyde's  Death 204 

Hints    and    Maxims    from     Mr.    Hyde's    Circulars    to 
Agents  OF  THE  Equitable  Society 215 

Mr.  Hyde's    Life-Work:    Forty   Years'  Record  of  the 
Equitable  Society 235 

Unveiling   of  J.  Q.  A.  Ward's  Portrait  Statue   of   Mr, 
Hyde 238 


PRESIDENT   ALEXANDER'S   REMINISCENCES 

I  FIRST  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Hyde  when  I 
was  a  boy  in  New  York.  He  was  a  member  of  the  church  at 
the  corner  of  Nineteenth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue,  of  which 
my  father  was  the  pastor.  It  was  then  the  most  important 
Presbyterian  church  in  New  York,  and  in  the  congregation 
were  many  of  the  most  influential  merchants  and  bankers  in 
the  city. 

I  remember  Mr.  Hyde  very  well  in  those  days  as  being  a 
young,  slim,  active  man,  very  earnest  and  assiduous  in  the 
work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  other 
similar  useful  enterprises. 

At  about  the  time  I  was  finishing  my  junior  year  at  col- 
lege, Mr.  Hyde  was  actively  engaged  in  launching  his  new 
enterprise,  the  Equitable  Life.  My  father  took  a  very  warm 
interest  in  his  undertaking,  and  the  first  Board  of  Direc- 
tors of  the  Equitable  was  very  largely  composed  of  strong 
men  in  my  father's   congregation. 

I  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  preliminary  work  of  estab- 
lishing the  Equitable,  which  was  organized  July  26,  1859, 
during  the  vacation  before  I  became  a  senior  at  college. 
Owing  to  my  intimacy  with  Mr.  Hyde,  and  the  fact  that  my 
uncle  Mr.  William  C.  Alexander  was  chosen  to  be  the 
first  president  of  the  company,  I  kept  very  closely  in  touch 
with  Mr.  Hyde  and  his  work. 

After  graduation  from  college  in  i860,  I  studied  law  in 
New  York,  became  a  practitioner,  and  continued  active  in  the 

153 


154 


APPENDIX 


profession  until  1866,  when  I  was  elected  secretary  of  the 
Equitable.  I  mention  this  fact  merely  as  showing  when  my 
organic  connection  with  the  company  began,  and  to  explain 
that  during  the  interval  from  July,  1859,  until  the  13th  of 
August,  1866,  my  intercourse  with  Mr.  Hyde  was  that  of  a 
friend  and  not  that  of  an  associate  officer.  I  saw  a  great  deal  of 
him,  and  a  friendship  was  formed  which  continued  unbroken  and 
constantly  increasing  in  firmness  until  Mr.  Hyde's  death  in  1 899. 

Mr.  Hyde,  during  part  of  this  early  interval,  lived  in  East 
Twenty-sixth  Street,  and  for  a  short  portion  of  that  time  I, 
being  a  bachelor  in  New  York,  without  family  connections 
living  there,  became  a  fellow-occupant  of  the  same  house. 
He  was  working  at  that  time  night  and  day,  and  had 
nothing  on  his  mind  but  the  Equitable,  unless  I  make  the 
exception  that  he  became  engaged  to  be  married  during 
that  period,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Annie  Fitch  in  March, 
1864,  I  being  one  of  his  groomsmen  on  that  occasion.  The 
fashion  in  those  days  was  not,  as  it  is  now,  to  have  a  best 
man  and  ushers,  but  simply  to  have  groomsmen  equal  in 
number  to  the  bridesmaids  who  waited  upon  the  bride. 

Nothing  can  obliterate  the  impression  made  upon  me  as  a 
young  man,  after  joining  the  Equitable,  of  the  tremendous 
vigor  and  industry  of  Mr.  Hyde.  His  mind  was  perhaps  the 
most  active  which  I  have  ever  observed.  I  remember  often 
having  heard  the  first  president  of  the  company  say  that  Mr. 
Hyde  had  a  more  suggestive  mind  than  anybody  he  had  ever 
met.  He  always  took  great  pains  to  be  sure  he  was  right  in  a 
certain  course,  and  then  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  stand 
in  his  way.  Neither  friendships  nor  obstacles  nor  precedents 
nor  anything  else  kept  him  from  accomplishing  his  pur- 
poses. Naturally,  a  man  like  this  sometimes  trod  on  other 
people's  toes,  but  it  was  always  with  him  the  Equitable 
first  and  personal  friendships  afterwards.  He  had  a  feel- 
ing about  it  very  much  as  if  it  was  a  sentient  being,  and 
was  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  in   its  behalf.     Instead  of 


APPENDIX  155 

being,  as  many  people  imagine  all  corporate  officers  to  be,  one 
who  was  disposed  to  use  the  institution  for  his  own  benefit,  there 
have  been  many  instances  which  have  come  under  my  personal 
observation  when  Mr.  Hyde  has  risked  his  entire  fortune  for 
the  benefit  of  the  concern  which  occupied  so  large  a  place  in 
his  heart,  and  I  do  not  exaggerate,  I  am  sure,  when  I  say  that 
he  would  have  submitted  to  impoverishment  rather  than  see 
disaster  come  to  the  Equitable. 

In  those  early  days  the  situation  was  of  course  absolutely 
different  from  what  it  is  now,  with  a  tremendous  accumulation 
of  money  and  a  growing  surplus,  and  a  good  name  and  fame 
reaching  all  over  the  world ;  and  wise  guidance  has  become 
of  more  importance  than  intrepid  work  and  constructive  skill. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  Equita- 
ble it  was  a  pygmy  among  companies  which  were,  by  com- 
parison, giants.  The  Connecticut  Mutual  was  at  that  date 
considered  one  of  the  greatest  companies,  and  had  an  exalted 
position  among  its  fellows.  In  New  York  the  Mutual  Life 
stood  at  the  head,  and  Mr.  Frederick  S.  Winston  was  the 
able  president  who  administered  its  affairs. 

There  was  more  or  less  friction  between  the  Mutual  Life 
and  the  Equitable,  because  Mr,  Winston,  a  conservative  man- 
ager of  a  well-established  company,  looked  with  some  sus- 
picion on  what  he  considered  the  audacious  aggressiveness  of 
Mr.  Hyde  and  his  young  company ;  but  this  friction  all 
passed  away  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Winston,  and  there  was 
always  an  underlying  friendship  between  these  two  men, 
which  mellowed  into  a  most  admirable  relation  in  Mr.  Win- 
ston's later  years. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  with  all  the  ambition,  zeal, 
pressure,  and  even  innovations,  Mr.  Hyde  never  for  one 
instant  allowed  himself,  or  those  under  his  direction,  to 
swerve  one  hair's-breadth  from  those  great  principles  which 
are  the  fundamental  basis  of  our  scientific  business. 

For  example,  he  insisted  from  the  start  that  the  business 


156  APPENDIX 

should  be  transacted  on  a  cash  basis.  In  those  days  a  large 
number  of  companies  took  from  policy-holders  a  portion  of 
the  premium,  say  forty  or  fifty  per  cent.,  in  a  promissory  note. 
This  note  was  a  charge  against  the  policy,  and  it  was  gener- 
ally represented  by  agents  for  those  companies  that  the  divi- 
dends would  offset  the  notes.  But  as  interest  was  charged 
up  against  the  notes,  and  the  dividends  did  not  amount  to 
enough  to  offset  them,  great  dissatisfaction  among  policy- 
holders ensued,  and  sacrifices  and  lapses  and  disorganization 
were  the  result. 

Before  these  chickens  came  home  to  roost,  Mr.  Hyde  saw 
the  folly  of  the  plan,  and  insisted  on  the  business  of  the 
Equitable  being  transacted  in  cash,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
for  a  new  company,  commencing  business  in  the  face  of  so 
many  obstacles  and  against  such  odds,  a  much  greater  busi- 
ness could  have  been  done  on  the  note  plan. 

It  is  a  great  tribute  to  his  wise  foresight  that  many  of  the 
companies  which  in  those  days  did  business  on  the  note  plan 
abandoned  it  afterwards. 

Another  principle  which  Mr.  Hyde  insisted  on  from  the 
start  was  that  of  absolute  mutuality.  The  insurance  laws  of 
New  York,  which  had  been  passed  a  short  time  before  the 
organization  of  the  Equitable,  required  all  new  companies  to 
have  a  capital  of  $100,000.  If  it  had  not  been  for  this  re- 
quirement, Mr.  Hyde  would  have  organized  the  Equitable 
without  capital.  He  was  forced  by  the  law  (as  all  other  com- 
panies have  been  since  1853)  to  have  a  capital,  and  he  had 
it  made  as  small  as  the  law  would  permit,  namely,  $100,000, 
and  insisted  that  the  charter  should  be  so  drawn  that  the 
holders  of  the  stock  could  never  receive  dividends  greater 
than  the  legal  interest  then  recognized  by  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  the  capital  was  so  invested  that  this 
interest  was  earned  by  it,  therefore  leaving  the  entire  profits 
of  the  Society  to  go  to  the  policy-holders,  and  the  policy- 
holders alone,  for  all  time. 


APPENDIX  157 

At  a  certain  meeting  which  occurred  of  the  incorporators 
of  the  Equitable,  some  of  those  present  proposed  that  the 
dividend  on  the  stock  should  be  made  greater  than  the  legal 
interest,  if  more  was  earned.  This  seemed  a  popular  propo- 
sition to  some  of  those  about  to  form  the  company,  but  at  the 
close  of  the  discussion  Mr.  Hyde  rose  and  said :  "  Gentle- 
men, I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  this  company  shall  be  a 
purely  mutual  company,  and  if  this  provision  limiting  the 
dividends  for  all  time  on  the  stock  to  legal  interest  isn't  put 
into  the  charter,  I  will  take  my  hat  and  walk  out  of  this  room 
and  have  nothing  further  to  do  with  the  enterprise  " ;  where- 
upon the  charter  was  so  framed  that  no  one  but  the  policy- 
holders should  ever  participate  in  the  profits  of  the  company. 

This  incident  in  the  early  history  of  the  company  is  par- 
ticularly interesting  in  these  times,  when  evil-disposed  or 
ignorant  persons  have  undertaken  to  intimate  that,  because 
the  Society  has  a  capital,  its  mutuality,  so  far  as  the  policy- 
holders is  concerned,  is  subject  to  question. 

It  might  have  been  thought  natural  that  a  man  building  up 
a  new  enterprise  in  life  assurance  would  have  been  disposed 
to  be  lenient  in  regard  to  the  acceptance  of  risks.  Not  so 
Mr.  Hyde.  From  the  very  beginning,  and  all  through  the 
history  of  the  Equitable,  Mr.  Hyde's  tremendous  influence 
had  been  brought  to  bear  on  the  medical  officers  and  exami- 
ners of  the  Society  rigidly  to  reject  doubtful  risks,  and  to  give 
the  Society  always  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  No  instance  in 
the  whole  history  of  the  Society  can  be  adduced  in  which  Mr. 
Hyde  ever  tried  to  get  the  medical  directors  to  pass  a  risk 
about  which  there  had  been  any  question;  on  the  contrary, 
they  have  constantly  been  under  a  pressure  from  him  to 
reject  in  all  such  cases. 

Mr.  Hyde  always  set  his  face  against  methods  which  had 
the  effect  of  mortgaging  the  policy-holders'  indemnity,  or 
making  it  easy  for  them  to  withdraw  from  the  company. 
His  view  was  that  the  object  of  a  life  assurance  company  was 


158  APPENDIX 

to  take  care  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  assured,  and 
he  was  dead  set  against  the  devices  which  have  crept  into  the 
business  through  competition  in  late  years,  by  which  poHcy- 
holders  are  tempted  to  leave  their  families  unprotected,  and 
against  big  surrender  values  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  as- 
surance, which  operate  to  make  policy-holders  throw  up 
their  assurance,  under  slight  temptation,  at  the  expense  of 
their  families. 

Mr.  Hyde  also  saw,  away  back  in  the  early  years  of  the 
company,  the  value  of  strength,  and  the  whole  force  of  his 
management  was  directed  toward  the  accumulation  of  surplus, 
not  only  as  a  protection,  but  as  a  reservoir  of  profits ;  and 
nothing  could  be  more  emphatic  than  the  justification  which 
events  recently  and  now  occurring  have  given  to  this  policy 
wisely  adopted  by  him  in  years  past.  The  accumulation  of 
the  Equitable's  large  surplus  makes  it  absolutely  proof  against 
the  dangers  confronting  many  companies  arising  out  of  the 
fall  in  interest  on  good  investments,  and  therefore  the  Equita- 
ble finds  itself  to-day  able  to  change  its  reserve  at  any  mo- 
ment from  a  four  per  cent,  basis — the  standard  of  the  State 
of  New  York — to  a  three  per  cent,  basis — the  standard  which 
will  most  probably  be  adopted  before  many  years — without 
the  slightest  shock,  damage,  or  embarrassment. 

I  remember  many  things  that  Mr.  Hyde  did  in  the  early 
years  of  the  company  which  illustrated  his  hard  business 
sense  and  determination.  When  he  saw  that  a  thing  had  to 
be  done  he  generally  made  up  his  mind  to  do  it,  no  matter 
what  the  obstacles.  An  instance,  of  no  great  importance  in 
itself,  will  illustrate  what  I  mean : 

The  Equitable  formerly  had  its  offices  at  No.  92  Broadway. 
As  its  business  increased  it  became  necessary  to  take  offices 
in  the  adjoining  building.  For  the  convenience  of  adminis- 
tration it  was  desirable  to  connect  these  two  buildings  by  an 
opening.  But  there  were  two  different  landlords,  and  one  of 
them  was  of   such  a  temperament  that  Mr.  Hyde  had  some 


f         APPENDIX  159 

misgivings  as  to  whether  he  could  obtain  consent  to  make  an 
opening  in  the  wall  between  the  two  structures.  He  cut  the 
Gordian  knot  by  bringing  in  masons  and  making  the  open- 
ing first,  and  then  negotiating  afterwards.  Of  course,  techni- 
cally and  legally,  the  act  was  a  trespass,  but  the  entrance 
once  made,  Mr.  Hyde  found  it  quite  easy  to  obtain  the  legal 
consent,  which  was  given. 

I  attribute  a  great  deal  of  what  business  capacity  I  have  to 
the  example  and  counsels  of  Mr.  Hyde  through  many  years. 
Very  early  in  my  official  career  he  urged  upon  me  the  prin- 
ciple that  I  should  never  do  myself  what  I  could  get  some 
other  man  to  do  as  well.  The  object  of  this  was  to  econo- 
mize time  for  matters  of  the  greatest  importance.  That 
thought  has  been  useful  to  me  all  my  life,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
elements  of  executive  ability. 

A  favorite  motto  of  his  in  advising  with  me  about  accom- 
pHshing  ends  was,  "  A  step  each  day."  In  the  conduct  of 
large  affairs,  with  embarrassing  and  complicated  questions 
constantly  arising,  the  temptation  frequently  presents  itself  to 
postpone  and  defer.  Mr.  Hyde's  promptitude  was  one  of  his 
best  points.  When  important  things  were  to  be  done,  he  did 
them  like  lightning,  and  exacted  the  same  sort  of  readiness 
on  the  part  of  his  assistants.  Any  man  who  will  adopt  this 
principle  and  put  it  into  practice  will  accomplish  many  times 
the  work  of  one  who  doesn't  bear  it  in  mind. 

The  remarkable  system  by  which  the  officers  of  the  Equita- 
ble keep  daily  check  on  every  department  of  its  affairs,  and 
know  precisely  what  is  going  on,  by  means  of  statistical  re- 
ports from  the  various  departments,  was  invented  by  Mr. 
Hyde  and  put  into  operation,  and  it  is  now  of  the  greatest 
possible  value  and  requires  little  amendment.  Whoever  is  at 
the  head  of  the  Equitable  is  able,  by  means  of  this  machinery, 
every  day,  to  know  exactly  how  faithfully  each  man  in  the 
office  and  in  the  field  is  performing  his  duties,  and  how  the 
results  in  all  departments  stand,    and    thereby    to  criticize, 


i6o  APPENDIX 

change,  develop,  and  otherwise  handle  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness so  as  to  correct  faults  and  make  improvements,  and  all 
this  with  very  slight  loss  of  trouble  or  time. 

I  always  found  Mr.  Hyde  a  kind  and  indulgent  friend  to  all 
who  were  faithful  and  diligent,  but  he  was  hard  and  inexora- 
ble toward  the  unfaithful  and  lazy.  No  man  ever  could  hold 
his  friendship  and  support  who  was  not  efficient  and  honest. 
He  judged  men  by  the  results  of  their  work,  and  not  by  their 
good  intentions. 

In  the  old  days,  when  the  time  of  the  chief  officers  was  not 
so  much  taken  up  with  administrative  work  as  at  present,  it 
was  one  of  Mr.  Hyde's  favorite  methods  of  improving  the 
business  to  get  all  the  general  agents  and  managers  in  the 
country  together  in  New  York  for  conventions  of  several  days' 
duration.  During  these  sessions  they  told  one  another  their 
methods  of  succeeding  in  canvassing,  and  Mr.  Hyde  would 
supplement  them  with  his  own  experience.  These  conven- 
tions were  of  vast  use  in  those  days,  and  always  wound  up 
with  a  feast  at  which  the  loyalty  and  Equitable  spirit  of  the 
men  were  excited  to  the  highest  pitch. 

When  the  Equitable  started,  Mr.  Hyde  took  off  his  coat 
and  went  into  the  field  with  Dr.  Edward  W.  Lambert,  who 
was  then,  as  he  is  now,  chief  medical  examiner  of  the 
company,  and  canvassed  for  risks  himself,  and  almost  up  to 
the  last  of  his  life  he  was  ready,  when  an  agent  found  it  im- 
possible to  close  with  an  applicant,  to  put  on  his  hat  and  go 
out  and  help  him  to  do  it,  and  the  instance  was  rare  when  he 
did  not  succeed. 

His  personality  in  intercourse  with  business  men  was 
magnetic.  He  had  an  eye  like  an  eagle's,  and  when  he 
talked  to  the  man  opposite  to  him,  he  looked  him  through 
and  through,  and  it  was  only  here  and  there  that  the  person 
to  whom  he  addressed  himself  was  not  brought  absolutely 
within  the  power  of  his  influence.  Mr.  Hyde  always  claimed 
that  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  success  in  an  agent  was  the 


APPENDIX  i6i 

ability  to  enforce  his  will  on  the  mind  of  the  man  with  whom 
he  was  dealing. 

Mr.  Hyde  had  not  the  habit  of  resorting  to  many  re- 
sources outside  of  the  Equitable  for  pleasure.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  reasons  for  his  great  success  that  he  was 
a  man  of  one  idea.  "  This  one  thing  I  do,"  was  a  favorite  motto 
of  his.  It  was  the  Equitable,  morning,  noon,  and  night,  day  in 
and  day  out.  When  he  went  home,  or  walked  or  rode  for  exer- 
cise, he  was  apt  to  engage  in  reflection  about  what  measures 
could  be  taken  to  benefit  the  Equitable,  and  it  undoubtedly 
was  one  of  the  causes  which  brought  his  life  to  an  earlier  end 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case,  that  he  permitted 
himself  so  little  diversion  and  change  of  thought. 

He  always  had  a  sort  of  contempt  for  those  connected  with 
the  company  who  gave  a  portion  of  their  attention  outside  of 
business  hours  to  other  things  than  the  Equitable's  business. 
Whether  this  was  or  was  not  a  mistake  so  far  as  his  own  life 
and  longevity  were  concerned,  there  was  no  question  but  that 
the  Equitable  got  the  benefit  of  it. 

As  I  look  at  the  organization  of  the  Society  to-day,  and 
see  the  many  men  who  have  grown  up  from  the  lowest  posi- 
tions in  the  office  into  the  highest,  and  having  been  all 
through  these  years  directly  and  indirectly  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Mr.  Hyde's  strong  character,  I  can  see,  even  now 
that  he  is  gone,  that  there  pervades  the  administration  of  the 
Society's  affairs  a  spirit  and  a  habit  which  are  unique  in  their 
excellence,  and  this  spirit  and  this  habit  are  sure  to  be  per- 
petuated, and  will  give  a  real  strength  to  the  conduct  of  the 
Equitable's  affairs,  which  I  may  be  forgiven  for  thinking  does 
not  exist  in  quite  the  same  sense  in  other  quarters. 

James  W.  Alexander. 


PRESIDENT   McCURDY'S   TRIBUTE 

The  first  general  agent  of  the  Mutual  to  achieve  a  national 
reputation  in  spreading  the  principles  of  mutual  insurance  was 
Henry  H.  Hyde  of  Boston.  His  son,  trained  as  a  clerk  in  the 
Mutual  office,  showed  at  an  early  age  an  originality  and 
energy  which  could  not  long  be  satisfied  in  a  subordinate  po- 
sition, and  in  1859  he  founded  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance 
Society  of  the  United  States,  gathering  to  his  support  a  large 
body  of  associates  of  high  moral,  intellectual,  and  financial 
resources. 

This  company,  in  the  short  space  of  less  than  forty  years,  and 
while  its  founder  is  still  at  its  head,^  has  become  one  of  the 
noblest  monuments  of  wisdom,  perseverance,  and  permanent 
usefulness  which  modern  civilization  possesses.  To  the  phos- 
phorescent genius  of  Henry  Baldwin  Hyde  is  due  not  only  its 
conception,  not  only  the  unremitting,  intelligent,  and  impul- 
sive labor  with  which  it  was  established,  but  the  constant 
supervision  of  its  affairs  throughout  its  history. 

Always  surprising  by  the  novelty  of  his  methods,  and  in- 
domitable in  the  vigor  and  mastery  with  which  they  were 
prosecuted,  his  influence  has  been  felt  upon  the  business  at 
large  in  a  degree  second  to  none,  and  the  vast  changes  which 
its  entire  organization  and  management  have  undergone  dur- 

1  This  was  written  during  Mr.  of  the  New  York  "Independent," 
Hyde's  Hfetime.  It  was  pubUshed  under  the  heading,  "Life  Insurance 
in  the   fiftieth  anniversary  number     Fifty  Years  Ago." 

162 


APPENDIX  163 

ing  the  last  generation  have  resulted,  in  a  degree  which  few 
as  yet  appreciate,  from  innovations  made  by  him. 

From  age  to  age  some  soul  divinely  great 
Mounts  o'er  the  level  of  otir  poor  estate ; 
And  mindless  of  the  confluent  tides  that  gave 
Its  grand  preeminence  to  that  crowning  wave, 
We  mark  its  period,  and  redate  old  time 
By  the  accession  of  that  force  sublime. 

Richard  A.  McCurdy. 


PRESIDENT  McCALL'S    TRIBUTE  ^ 

A  GREAT  insurance  leader  has  fallen.  Henry  B.  Hyde  is 
dead.  By  the  standards  used  in  judging  men  in  this  life,  he 
was  without  a  peer  in  the  profession  which  he  honored  by 
his  unsurpassed  abihty.  But  he  may  not  be  measured 
by  the  standards  that  we  apply  to  the  average  business  man, 
because  of  his  unquestioned  superiority.  He  was  rapid  in 
thought  and  action,  brilliant  in  conception  of  plans,  and 
masterly  in  carrying  them  to  successful  completion.  The 
great  loss  to  the  insurance  profession  of  a  genius  like  this 
great  chieftain  may  not  find  proper  expression  here.  In 
any  tribute  paid  him,  words  must  fail  to  describe  correctly 
his  impulsiveness,  his  intolerance  of  mediocrity,  and  the  over- 
powering aggressiveness  of  the  man  in  the  severe  contests  he 
invited  and  waged.  Their  description  does  not  belong  to 
this  hour,  nor  can  we  now  depict  the  quieter  moods  when 
restfulness  held  sway  and  gentler  thoughts  found  voice  in 
generous  and  impartial  tributes  to  friend  and  foe  alike,  in- 
dicating the  manliness  of  one  who  was  a  giant  both  in 
intellect  and  in  action.  In  the  organization  and  upbuilding 
of  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  world's  beneficent  institutions — 
the  Equitable  Society — his  tremendous  will-power  and  un- 
limited energy  shone  resplendent.  The  Equitable  was 
Henry  B.    Hyde — in   its  beginning,   through    its   trials    and 

1  From  a  circular  addressed  by  President  McCall  to  the  agents  of 
the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company. 

164 


APPENDIX  165 

triumphs,  and  to  the  end  of  his  career  now  honorably  closed. 
He  builded  not  for  his  Hfe,  however,  but  for  all  time,  and 
the  great  trust  he  leaves,  embellished  by  his  name  and  per- 
sonality, enriched  by  his  devotion  and  integrity,  will  be 
secure  in  the  hands  of  those  who  were  his  friends  as  well  as 
his  associates,  and  who,  honoring  him  in  life,  will  perpetuate, 
unsullied,  his  memory  in  death.  For  his  epitaph  we  may 
adopt  the  words  applied  to  another,  centuries  ago,  and 
fittingly  repeated  here  with  the  homage  of  our  profound 
sorrow :  "  He  has  completed  a  monument  more  lasting  than 
brass,  and  more  sublime  than  the  regal  elevation  of  pyra- 
mids, which  neither  the  wasting  shower,  the  unavailing  north 
wind,  nor  an  innumerable  succession  of  years  and  the 
flight   of  seasons  shall  be  able  to    demolish." 

John  A.  McCall. 


PRESIDENT    BATTERSON'S   REMINISCENCES 

Over  a  period  of  thirty-five  years  it  was  my  privilege  to 
know  Henry  B.  Hyde  in  a  continued  series  of  business  and 
personal  relations,  which  ripened  a  friendship  that  was  never 
disturbed  by  disagreeing  interests  or  opinions. 

Easily  the  foremost  leader  in  the  great  work  to  which  he 
unreservedly  devoted  his  life,  he  followed  his  own  convictions 
with  a  zeal  and  energy  which  were  a  constant  challenge  to 
preexisting  forces  and  methods.  The  anxiety  of  his  friends 
and  the  predictions  of  his  competitors  were  constantly  quick- 
ened by  the  boldness  of  his  assumptions  and  the  rapidity 
of  his  movements,  until  an  abounding  success  compelled  his 
most  formidable  opponents  to  adopt  similar  methods. 

Everything  which  directly  or  indirectly  touched  his  com- 
pany with  a  rough  hand  at  any  point  found  the  chief  in 
readiness  with  a  vigorous  and  masterful  defense.  Having  a 
personal  magnetism  of  unusual  power,  he  drew  about  him 
in  all  advisory  and  practical  departments  the  highest  order 
of  talent;  and  the  results  were  phenomenal  and  unequaled. 
Tireless  in  his  inspection  of  details,  no  item  was  too  small 
for  his  critical  attention.  He  judged  men  by  their  courage 
in  overcoming  difficulties  and  by  successful  performance. 
For  excessive  conservatism  and  timidity  he  had  little  time 
or  patience.  He  seized  with  a  gigantic  grasp  large  under- 
takings before  which  timid  men  would  quail,  and  he  was 
fearless  and  prompt  in  their  execution.  Tender  as  a  woman 
in  his  friendships,  the  charm  of  his  confidence  will  never  be 

i66 


APPENDIX  167 

forgotten  by  those  who  were  near  enough  to  enjoy  its  earn- 
est expression.  These  delicate  and  lovely  traits  of  char- 
acter, cherished  by  all  who  experienced  the  impressions  made 
by  his  inner  life,  will  overpass  all  other  achievements,  how- 
ever great,  and  remain  for  them  his  best  monument.  In  his 
last  days  there  was  no  unworthy  pride  or  disposition  to 
magnify  the  work  of  his  life ;  on  the  contrary,  his  strong 
desire  that  every  sign  of  the  asperities  and  friction  of  human 
ambition  should  be  so  completely  obliterated  that  his  depar- 
ture might  be  one  of  perfect  peace  with  all  mankind  will 
remain  as  a  sweet  witness  that  he  went  into  his  new  life  for- 
giving and  forgiven. 

By  the  death  of  Henry  B.  Hyde  we  have  lost  from  our 
front  rank  a  great  leader  and  a  sincere  friend.  The  good  he 
accomplished  has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  widely  dis- 
tributed to  inhabitants  of  many  nations ;  and  no  one  has  been 
harmed  by  the  fact  of  his  existence.  His  great  affection  for 
his  family,  his  company,  and  the  associates  and  friends  of 
his  choice  who  held  up  his  tired  arms  when  the  shadows 
lengthened,  will  long  be  remembered  in  evidence  of  the 
most  pathetic  and  delightful  characteristic  of  an  unusually 
busy  life,  both  unique  and  remarkable. 

James  G.  Batterson. 


PRESIDENT   HEGEMAN'S   REMINISCENCES 

My  acquaintance  with  the  late  Mr.  Hyde  extended  over 
some  thirty  years.  It  cannot  be  said  that  I  knew  him  inti- 
mately—  perhaps  few  did.  I  knew  him  as  one  official  would 
know  another  in  the  line  of  our  chosen  work,  where  kindred 
interests  brought  us  more  or  less  together.  That  work  was 
one  surpassing,  probably,  any  other  great  economic  move- 
ment of  the  age,  in  respect  of  the  vastness  of  its  operations 
when  viewed  in  conjunction  with  the  comparatively  few 
men  who  have  given  marked  direction  to  its  development. 
When,  among  that  few,  one  now  and  again  displays  master- 
ful endowment,  his  very  prominence  forms  a  focus  on  which 
concentrate  the  watchful  eyes  of  his  contemporaries.  In  his 
movements  their  interests  are  excited;  with  his  operations 
they  become  familiar;  toward  his  personality  their  attraction 
never  abates.  So  that,  when  to  such  an  one  the  summons 
comes,  the  sense  of  loss  seems  personal,  and  they  who  en- 
joyed somewhat  of  his  confidence  and  came  to  know  and 
admire  his  real  character  instinctively  say :  "  A  friend,  and 
a  dear  friend,  has  fallen." 

So  I  say,  and  so  I  feel,  of  Mr.  Hyde,  and  I  am  glad  of  the 
opportunity  (though  conscious  of  unfitness)  of  weaving  a 
chaplet  of  flowers,  though  they  are  only  modest  forget-me- 
nots,  culled  from  the  meadows  of  a  cherished  memory. 

After  all,  the  story  of  Mr.  Hyde's  life  is  the  story  of  the 
Equitable,  and  that  marvelous  career  may  be  cogently  ex- 
pressed   thus:    1859,    assets,    $100,000;     surplus,    nothing; 


APPENDIX  169 

1898,  assets,  $258,000,000;  surplus,  $57,000,000.  Does 
all  this  stand  for  the  achievement  of  one  man?  No.  Like 
many  another  stirring  narrative,  it  is  the  product  of  collabo- 
ration. The  Equitable  has  had  strong  men  without  and 
strong  men  within.  Remembrance  of  the  dead  warrants  no 
forgetfulness  of  the  living.  But  the  men  closest  to  him, 
especially  the  one  man  who,  for  a  generation,  has  nobly 
borne  with  him  the  "  heat  and  burden  "  of  administration 
and  upbuilding,  are  the  most  emphatic  as  to  the  towering 
mind  that  dominated  all.  Mr.  Hyde  sounded  the  key-note. 
He  was  the  pace-maker.  He  led  the  charge.  His  was  the 
white  plume  on  which,  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  all  eyes 
centered,  and  following  which  all  came  in  at  the  victory. 

Seven  years  of  preparation  in  the  Mutual  Life  found  him 
at  twenty-five  tired  of  subalternism  and  ripe  for  leadership. 
Thereupon  he  summoned  into  existence  the  Equitable. 
From  the  moment  of  its  birth  he  had  a  purpose  in  hfe— a 
distinct  aim  that  nothing  ever  daunted.  The  company 
began  with  a  volume  of  business  he  had  personally  solicited 
which  would  be  a  handsome  tribute  to  the  brilliant  field-men 
of  to-day  —  men  working  under  conditions  which  bear  no 
comparison  to  the  hard,  pioneer  work  of  1859. 

He  opened  the  throttle  from  the  start,  and  he  had  no  use 
for  air-brakes.  He  crossed  swords  with  twenty  companies 
then  in  existence,  and  fought  the  fight  later  on  against 
seventy  competitors.  He  was  a  just  antagonist,  asking  no 
odds  beyond  "fair  play."  I  never  heard  from  him  a  mean 
word  about  a  rival.  In  his  onslaughts  —  and  they  were 
mighty  when  he  was  aroused  —  he  wasn't  satisfied  to  get 
up  early  in  the  morning  for  preparation ;  he  was  always  up 
the  day  before.  When  most  men  were  considering  when  to 
begin,  he  had  it  done.  His  feet,  in  the  earlier  days  espe- 
cially, were  always  in  the  stirrups. 

It  was  his  methods  that  made  the  Equitable  the  first  com- 
pany in  America  to  write  forty  millions  of  new  business  in  a 


I70  APPENDIX 

single  year.  Then  he  threw  down  the  gauntlet  at  fifty  mil- 
lions ;  then  sixty.  And  so  he  went  on  until  he  was  the  first 
to  cross  the  line  with  a  hundred  millions.  Oh,  yes,  it  has 
been  done  by  others  since ;  but  we  are  now  speaking  of  the 
man  who  led  the  way.  Longing  for  new  worlds  to  conquer, 
he  was  the  first  to  cross  the  ocean  and  compete  for  the  busi- 
ness of  Europe.  Several  American  companies  followed,  but 
none  led  him.  He  lived  long  enough  to  pass  all  competitors 
in  total  business  in  force,  according  to  the  last  State  reports; 
and  the  surplus  of  the  Equitable  stood  in  the  same  relative 
rank.  But  a  single  company  exceeded  it  in  assets  and 
income,  and  that  company  had  sixteen  years'  headway.  The 
minute  adopted  by  the  Society  May  lo,  1899,  recites  that  its 
accumulated  funds,  plus  its  payments  to  policy-holders,  are 
"  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions  more  than  any  other 
life  company  has  gathered  within  the  corresponding  period 
of  its  history." 

Verily,  the  man  who  could  be  the  main  instrumentality  in 
a  creative  work  like  this  must  have  been  of  noble  stature. 
These  things  come  not  of  themselves.  They  are  wrought 
out  patiently  and  painfully.  They  are  the  products  of  deep 
thought  and  heroic  action.  Mr.  Hyde  always  did  his  own 
thinking,  in  the  last  analysis.  He  would  seek  advice,  and 
he  always  followed  what  a  friend  gave  him — provided  he 
agreed  with  the  friend!  But,  his  course  marked  out,  he 
hewed  to  the  line ;  he  never  faltered  ;  he  never  feared.  I  rarely 
knew  a  man  with  more  sublime  faith  in  himself.  He  believed 
that  convictions  were  given  to  men  to  abide  by ;  and  he 
never  distrusted  Hyde.  All  his  studying  and  counseling 
and  weighing  and  doubting  were  done  beforehand ;  then  the 
purpose,  once  formed,  went  on  to  fruition. 

Occasionally  he  would  stop  in  at  my  office,  on  his  way 
up-town,  for  a  brief  chat.  I  used  to  feel  around  for  a  subject 
upon  which  to  warm  him  up.  I  would  purposely  oppose 
some  idea  of   his  for  the  treat  I  knew  it  would  bring.       It 


APPENDIX  171 

rarely  failed.  When  he  was  aglow  it  was  a  rare  sight.  For 
all  practical  purposes  one  could  be  two  or  three  rooms  away 
and  miss  none  of  his  conversation.  He  always  spoke  in 
italics,  and  not  infrequently  in  small  caps.  He  had  a  good 
right  arm,  too,  and  sometimes  he  would  bring  down  his 
hand  in  gesture  so  emphatic  as  to  make  one  sympathize  with 
the  poor,  inanimate  table  that  refused  to  catch  the  contagion 
of  his  energy. 

A  hard  fighter,  he  was,  too,  resourceful  and  tactful ;  but  he 
preferred  the  ways  of  peace,  when  peace  could  be  achieved 
with  honor. 

He  was  an  inspirer  of  other  men.  Were  the  forces  lagging 
in  some  part  of  the  field  ?  Then  was  reenacted  the  role  of 
Sheridan  down  the  Shenandoah  valley.  It  has  been  said 
that  there  are  men  superbly  educated  and  finely  trained,  but 
there  is  in  them  no  light  and  no  heat.  No  such  man  was 
Mr.  Hyde.  He  was  a  torch  that  could  Hght  a  thousand. 
He  was  an  incarnate  automobile ;  he  could  charge  himself 
from  within  himself,  independent  of  exterior  forces.  He 
needed  no  power-house ;  he  was  his  own  dynamo. 

His  capacity  for  work  was  a  marvel.  He  was  a  veritable 
"  galvanic  battery  in  breeches."  I  once  heard  he  was  ill  and 
in  the  doctor's  hands,  and  so  he  was ;  but  there  was  a  ste- 
nographer each  side  of  the  bed,  and  a  typewriter  clicking  in 
the  corner  of  the  room.  It  seemed  as  though  he  had  one  hand 
in  the  East  and  another  in  the  West,  while  his  feet  were  down 
South  and  his  head  in  Canada,  or  Europe,  or  both. 

I  have  not  infrequently  been  told  of  his  practical  help  to 
one  or  another  of  his  agents,  who,  coming  across  a  hard  case, 
would  make  known  the  facts  to  Mr.  Hyde.  Thereupon  they 
would  go  together,  and  Mr.  Hyde's  persuasive  powers  would 
often  secure  the  application.  A  director  of  the  writer's  com- 
pany was  thus  canvassed  by  Mr.  Hyde,  personally,  seven 
times  before  he  felt  constrained  to  surrender. 

Surely  one  may  as  well  try  to  stay  Niagara  as  to  thwart 


172 


APPENDIX 


the  power  of  a  character  thus  tireless  in  its  industry,  cease- 
less in  its  energy,  and  boundless  in  its  determination. 

Of  his  private  life  I  had  but  little  opportunity  of  knowledge, 
though  I  know  from  what  has  been  told  me  that  his  impulses 
were  generous,  his  sympathies  and  attachments  deep  and 
abiding,  his  benefactions  great-hearted  and  large-handed, 
his  fidelity  to  deserving  friendships  the  very  acme  of  loyalty 
and  love. 

Of  what  he  was  to  the  choice  spirits  of  his  household,  I 
can  form  an  idea  only  from  my  general  knowledge  of  the 
man.  The  altar  of  that  sanctuary  could  never  have  been 
without  its  burning  coal  and  its  fragrant  incense.  It  was  a 
paradise  to  him,  and  to  them  that  loved  him  and  leaned  upon 
him. 

He  was  the  farthest  removed  from  an  attitudinarian  of  any 
man  I  ever  knew  who  bore  any  approach  to  his  heroic,  posi- 
tive qualities;  and  the  one  thing  distasteful  to  him  was  any 
form  of  exhibitiveness.  I  can  quite  credit  the  statement,  im- 
puted to  him  by  an  insurance  journal  some  months  ago,  that 
he  frequently  went  from  his  home  in  Fortieth  Street  to  the 
Equitable  office  without  accosting  a  man  he  knew  outside  the 
insurance  interests.  He  helped  along  all  good  movements 
intelligently  and  liberally,  but  he  evaded  the  eye  of  publicity. 
He  did  much  good  by  stealth,  and  was  occasionally  found 
out  by  accident.  His  personality  was  essentially  of  the 
Corinthian  order — that  "  vaunteth   not  itself." 

As  to  his  influence  upon  the  marvelous  development  of 
life  insurance  in  the  United  States  there  can  be  no  two 
opinions.  That  development  is  the  wonder  of  the  world. 
One  billion  five  hundred  millions  of  accumulated  funds,  so 
secure  as  to  be  intrenched  behind  two  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  surplus,  assuring  more  than  seven  billions  of  pro- 
tection,— and  most  of  it  done  within  a  generation, — eloquently 
attest  its  magnificence.  We  cite  these  figures  only  to  assert 
that  to  a  handful  of  masterly  men  is  this  development  mainly 


APPENDIX  173 

due,  and  to  no  one  man,  living  or  dead,  so  much  as  to  the 
great  character  of  whom  we  now  reverently  speak. 

It  is  not  easy  to  allude  to  him  or  to  his  life-work  without 
apparently  invading  the  realm  of  fulsome  flattery.  Language 
that  to  the  stranger  might  appear  exaggerated  would  seem 
pulseless  and  cold  to  those  who  knew  him. 

But  true  it  is  that  against  his  fair  honor  and  his  good  name 
not  a  man  to-day  would  lift  his  voice ;  and  he  has  gone  to 
his  long  home  praised,  honored,  and  beloved. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Equitable  have  authorized  a 
statue  of  Mr.  Hyde  to  be  erected  in  the  grand  central  hall 
of  the  Society's  building.  But  no  handiwork  of  painter  or 
sculptor  can  adorn  its  walls  or  ornament  its  chambers  at  all 
comparable  with  the  vivid  and  abiding  memories  that  he  has 
left  as  a  priceless  legacy  to  his  family,  his  associates,  his 
contemporaries,  and  to  posterity. 

John  R.  Hegeman. 


DR.  LAMBERT'S   REMINISCENCES 

My  first  interview  with  Mr.  Hyde  was  early  in  February, 
1859.  He  called  upon  me  to  get  my  influence  with  my 
father  in  starting  a  new  life  assurance  company.  He  prom- 
ised me  the  medical  examinership  if  the  company  should  be 
organized.  To  my  surprise,  the  project  as  presented  by  Mr. 
Hyde  was  favorably  received  by  my  father,  who  took  great 
interest  in  obtaining  the  subscriptions  necessary  to  start  the 
company.  Mr.  Hyde  believed  in  having  a  certain  number  of 
policies  pledged  provided  a  company  could  be  organized. 
Hence  from  early  in  February  to  July,  1859,  he  spent  a  cer- 
tain number  of  hours  each  day  in  soliciting  men  to  take  poli- 
cies provided  he  succeeded  in  forming  a  company.  I  used 
to  accompany  him,  and  examined  each  one  who  would  agree 
to  take  a  policy  under  the  conditions  named.  The  names  of 
those  who  took  the  policies  are  well  known.  But  those  who 
promised  to  assure  were  few  in  comparison  with  the  number 
actually  solicited.  Mr.  Hyde  and  I  were  very  young  men, 
and  our  reception  by  the  majority  was  chilly  and  often  dis- 
courteous. We  were  never  actually  kicked  out,  but  discre- 
tion on  our  part  probably  saved  us.  One  man  whose  office 
was  in  John  Street  was  persuaded  to  submit  to  an  examina- 
tion, but  he  was  found  to  be  ineligible  on  account  of  organic 
heart-trouble.  He  became  so  angry  at  what  he  considered 
the  impudence  of  the  whole  transaction  that  we  had  to  re- 
treat very  hastily. 

The  energy,  persistence,  and  hopefulness  of  Mr.  Hyde 
during  the  months  from  February  to  July  were  so  great  that 
he  held  together  the  eminent  men  whom  he  had  interested  in 
this  new  project.     I  never  knew  him  to  falter  but  once.     He 

174 


APPENDIX  175 

had  received  promises  of  subscriptions  for  some  ninety-odd 
thousand  dollars  of  the  capital,  but  still  lacked  about  six  thou- 
sand of  the  required  amount.  He  was  seemingly  at  the  end 
of  his  resources,  when  he  called  on  my  father  and  told  him  that 
the  company  could  not  be  formed  without  this  additional 
sum.  My  father  invited  him  to  go  with  him  to  see  Mr. 
Richards,  of  the  firm  of  James  W.  Paige  &  Co.,  who  was 
induced  to  subscribe  the  necessary  six  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  fact  was  accomplished. 

Mr.  Hyde  insisted  that  each  of  the  officers  should  be  con- 
tent with  a  salary  barely  sufficient  to  maintain  a  decent 
living.  The  medical  examiner  was  limited  to  three  dollars  for 
each  examination  made,  but  the  total  was  not  to  exceed  one 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  it  being  understood  that  any  excess 
should  go  into  the  Society's  treasury. 

In  the  early  days  the  mornings  were  given  to  the  office 
work.  The  afternoons  and  evenings  were  devoted  to  solicit- 
ing. We  went  together  through  the  business  sections,  and 
many  early  policy-holders  were  won  over  by  Mr.  Hyde's  per- 
suasive powers.  Our  custom  was  to  make  examinations  at 
the  business  offices  or  residences  of  the  applicants. 

Mr.  Hyde's  constant  and  never  ceasing  advice  to  me  was 
not  to  accept  on  any  plan  for  any  amount  a  case  which  was 
in  my  judgment  at  all  doubtful.  His  judgment  was  that  a 
young  company  could  not  afford  to  take  risks  which  an  older 
company  might  safely  assume. 

A  very  fortunate  circumstance  in  the  formation  of  the 
company  was  the  fact  that  William  C.  Alexander  assumed 
the  duties  of  president.  He  was  a  man  of  affairs,  accustomed 
to  deal  with  men  of  all  sorts  and  conditions.  He  was  ex- 
tremely courteous,  and  met  the  directors  and  others  in  such  a 
way  that  Mr.  Hyde  was  able  to  concentrate  his  energies  and 
thoughts  on  getting  business  and  organizing  the  agencies  ne- 
cessary for  the  development  of  new  fields. 

Edward  W.  Lambert. 


REMINISCENCES   OF  THE  OLDEST  MEMBERS 
OF    THE    OFFICE    FORCE 

The  first  clerk  identified  with  the  Society,  James  B.  Loring, 
now  registrar,  was  engaged  in  i860;  the  second,  Thomas  D. 
Jordan,  now  controller,  came  to  the  office  in  1861. 

Four  additional  clerks  were  engaged  in  1864.  They  are 
all  living  and  all  hold  responsible  positions. 

Mr.  Loring  says : 

I  entered  the  office  of  the  Society  in  August,  1 860.  At  that  time 
the  work  was  divided  up  somewhat  like  this :  The  president  opened 
the  mail  and  passed  upon  the  applications,  then  handed  them  to  Dr. 
Lambert  for  his  approval.  Mr.  Hyde  prepared  the  canvassing  docu- 
ments, attended  to  all  correspondence,  to  establishing  agencies,  and 
to  all  contracts  for  advertising,  and  kept  things  stirring  generally — 
and  they  stirred.  Mr.  Phillips  kept  the  books.  The  secretary  did 
but  little  office  work ;   most  of  his  time  was  spent  in  obtaining  risks. 

When  there  was  much  printed  matter  to  be  mailed  Mr.  Hyde 
would  sometimes  stay  down  with  me  into  the  night  and  take  a  hand 
at  addressing  the  envelopes. 

In  a  few  months  after  I  came  the  business  increased  so  that  Mr. 
Hyde  was  obliged  to  drop  the  correspondence,  giving  it  to  Mr. 
Phillips,  who  passed  the  books  over  to  me.  As  I  recall  it,  on  ac- 
count of  the  war,  business  for  1861  and  1862  was  rather  uphill  work ; 
but  after  that  it  went  ahead  with  leaps  and  bounds. 

Mr.  Jordan  says : 

I  called  at  the  office  of  the  Society  in  December,  i860,  in  answer 
to  an  advertisement  for  a  boy.     Mr.  PhilHps  told  me  to  report  for 

176 


APPENDIX  177 

duty  early  in  the  following  year,  which  I  did  on  the  1 7th  of  January, 
1 86 1,  When  I  first  came  into  the  office  Mr.  Loring  was  the  only  clerk, 
and  I  think  at  that  time  there  were  only  two  regular  city  agents.  I  was 
the  office  boy.  Loring  kept  the  accounts,  made  out  policies,  and  acted 
for  a  time  as  cashier.  At  first  I  copied  letters,  made  up  boxes  of  sup- 
plies to  send  to  agents  throughout  the  country,  and  about  once  a  month 
received  from  Mr.  Phillips,  who  was  then  doing  the  work  of  actuary, 
cashier,  and  bookkeeper,  a  list  of  policy-holders  in  the  city  whose 
premiums  were  overdue,  and  I  was  sent  out  to  collect  them.  In  that 
way  quite  a  number  of  policies  were  saved.  After  a  time  I  commenced 
to  write  policies.  I  used  to  practise  handwriting,  imitating  Mr. 
Hyde's  style  as  far  as  possible. 

In  1862  I  decided  to  enter  the  army,  and  volunteered,  but  I  came 
back  to  the  Equitable  in  June,  1863.  Mr.  Loring  held  my  place 
for  me  in  my  absence.     In  August,  1863,  I  was  appointed  cashier. 

I  came  in  contact  with  Mr.  Hyde  every  day.  He  came  to  the  office 
early  in  the  morning,  and  often  stayed  until  late  at  night,  writing 
letters  and  interviewing  visitors.  I  often  went  to  supper  with  him 
in  a  restaurant  in  Broad  Street. 

Of  course  we  had  no  stenographers  in  those  days,  and  Mr.  Hyde 
wrote  all  his  own  letters.  He  attended  to  the  appointment  of  agents 
and  also  visited  the  agencies.  At  times  when  there  was  a  rush,  Mr. 
Hyde  made  out  policies  himself.  He  would  stay  down  at  the 
office  night  after  night  working  on  important  matters.  Often 
when  an  agent  was  unable  to  persuade  a  man  to  take  a  policy, 
Mr.  Hyde  would  call  on  him,  and  he  generally  succeeded  in  closing 
the  transaction,  sometimes  increasing  the  amount  of  the  pohcy.  He 
took  up  cases  in  which  we  failed  to  collect  the  premiums,  and  often 
induced  the  policy-holders  to  continue  their  assurance. 

Thomas  H.  Cuming  was  engaged  on  the  ist  of  May,  1864. 
In  speaking  of  those  early  days  Mr.  Cuming  says: 

Mr.  Hyde  always  took  time  to  scrutinize  the  work  and  test  the 
ability  of  each  employee,  evidently  deeming  it  essential  to  surround 
himself  with  thoroughly  capable  men.  He  was  never  satisfied  with 
slow  work,  but  at  the  same  time  thoroughness  and  absolute  accuracy 
were  set  forth  in  his  curriculum  as  prime  business  virtues.     Personal 


178  APPENDIX 

cleanliness  and  a  neat  appearance  were  required  of  the  office  staff, 
and  those  who  wrote  the  policies  were  requested  to  wash  their  hands 
frequently,  the  policies  being  silent  representatives  before  the  public  of 
the  Society. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  skilled  in  the  art  of  soliciting  assurance,  and  from 
the  beginning  inspired  others  to  accomplish  large  results.  His 
personal  influence  on  the  business  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  first  two  months  the  average  amount  of  each  policy  issued 
was  over  $5000,  a  most  excellent  showing  for  those  early  days  of 
the  business.  On  the  average,  two  policies  a  day  were  written  in 
1859  and  in  i860.  In  1861  and  1862  the  average  was  four.  In 
1863  the  average  was  eight. 

Mr.  F.  H.  Penning  was  engaged  August  8,  1864.  Mr. 
Penning  says : 

It  was  customary  in  the  early  days  for  Mr.  Hyde  to  visit  the 
policy-desk  the  first  thing  upon  his  arrival  at  the  office  a  little 
after  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  gave  him  pleasure  to  see 
the  amount  of  the  assurance  applied  for  and  entered  upon  the  books. 
He  often  used  to  say,  "  Don't  let  the  business  of  to-day  fall  behind 
that  of  the  corresponding  day  of  last  month."  His  arrival  was 
looked  forward  to  with  pleasure.  He  greeted  us  with  a  cheerful 
"  Good  morning,"  and  always  showed  that  he  was  ready  for  the 
day's  work.  Many  prominent  men  who  called  to  see  him  failed  to 
get  away  until  after  they  had  applied  for  a  policy,  leaving  their  checks 
for  the  first  premium.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  get  out  a  policy  in 
fifteen  minutes  when  Mr.  Hyde  was  behind  the  application. 

Alfred  W.  Maine,  now  associate  auditor  of  the  Society,  was 
engaged  August  15,  1864.  Mr.  Maine,  in  touching  upon 
the  interest  taken  by  Mr.  Hyde  in  faithful  clerks,  especially 
during  periods  of  illness  (provided  the  illness  was  not  due  to 
their  own  misdeeds),  says: 

During  the  long  business  trips  that  I  took  with  Mr.  Hyde  in  1891 
and  1892,  his  kindly  thoughtfulness  never  flagged.  On  one  or  two 
occasions  Mr.  Frank  Ballard  was  also  of  the  party,  and  I  have  always 


APPENDIX 


179 


had  a  suspicion  that  one  reason  Mr.  Hyde  had  for  asking  us  to 
accompany  him  was  that  neither  of  us  was  in  good  heahh  at  the 
time,  and  that  he  fek  that  the  trip  would  benefit  us. 

By  quick  wit,  ingenuity,  and  prompt  action  Mr.  Hyde  usually  had 
his  own  way  where  other  men  would  have  been  guided  by  the  will 
of  others  or  the  force  of  circumstances.  We  stopped  on  one  occa- 
sion at  Dallas,  Texas.  Mr.  Hyde  was  in  the  car  in  which  we  were 
traveling,  in  conference  with  several  agents  of  the  Society.  Suddenly 
a  committee  of  about  twenty-five  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the 
town,  including  the  mayor  and  the  presidents  of  the  principal  banks, 
arrived  at  the  station.  The  orator  of  the  town,  a  prominent  lawyer, 
dressed  for  the  occasion  in  a  silk  hat,  frock-coat,  and  white  tie,  be^"^ . 
a  long  oration ;  but  Mr.  Hyde  was  busy  and  had  little  time  to 
spare,  and  at  the  first  pause  broke  in  with  the  warmest  expressions 
of  gratification,  thanked  the  committee  for  calling,  assured  them  of 
the  pleasure  he  experienced  in  meeting  them,  told  them  a  few  stories, 
shook  hands,  put  them  in  a  good  humor  all  round,  and  retired  to  the 
car  and  returned  to  the  business  in  hand.  Some  time  afterwards, 
when  the  mayor  had  thought  the  whole  matter  out,  he  said :  "  We 
came  down  with  the  pick  of  the  town  to  take  this  man  into  camp, 
and  here  he  has  wiped  up  the  ground  with  us." 

Mr.  Hyde  was  ready  at  all  times  to  grant  interviews  to  reporters, 
and  to  have  them  pubhsh  appropriate  statements  regarding  the 
Equitable,  but  he  always  sought  to  prevent  laudatory  references  to 
himself.  When  our  train  ran  into  Louisville,  Mr.  Hyde  remembered 
that  on  a  former  occasion  a  long  article  had  appeared  in  one  of  the 
papers  containing  more  information  about  himself  than  about  the 
Society.  So  before  the  train  stopped  he  jumped  ofT  the  car,  calling 
to  me  to  follow  him,  crossed  the  yard,  leaped  the  fence,  and  entered 
the  city  unobserved. 

On  one  occasion  he  held  up  a  train.  We  were  on  our  way  home, 
and  expected  to  spend  a  few  hours  in  Washington  to  meet  a  num- 
ber of  prominent  people.  I  had  telegraphed  ahead  to  Chancellors- 
ville  for  two  barbers  to  meet  the  train  on  its  arrival  to  shave  us, 
but  only  one  barber  appeared.  Mr.  Hyde  was  shaved  first,  and  just 
as  the  barber  started  to  shave  me,  the  signal  was  given  for  the  train 
to  start.  Mr.  Hyde  jumped  off,  grabbed  hold  of  the  conductor,  and 
diverted  his  attention  so  effectually  from  his  duty  that  the  barber 


i8o  APPENDIX 

completed  his  work,  although  he  was  forced  to  abandon  his  coat  in 
escaping  from  the   train. 

On  one  occasion  an  agent  applied  for  an  advance  of  $500.  I 
submitted  this  request,  together  with  a  statement  of  the  agent's 
account,  but  Mr.  Hyde  protested  that  the  condition  of  the  account 
did  not  warrant  the  advance.  I  explained  that  the  agent  had 
worked  faithfully  and  well ;  that  he  had  a  large  family ;  that  his 
wife  and  two  of  his  children  were  ill,  and  that  he  had  other  difficul- 
ties to  contend  with,  for  which  he  was  in  no  way  responsible.  As  I 
talked,  Mr.  Hyde  put  up  his  hands  and  said,  "Stop  !  Stop  !  Stop  ! 
Stop  ! "  But  I  kept  right  on,  knowing  that  when  all  the  facts  had 
been  presented  he  would  make  an  exception  to  strict  business  rules. 
It  so  turned  out.  He  finally  put  his  "  H  "  on  the  application.  "  But," 
said  he,  "  tell  the  agent  that  I  will  never  do  it  again." 

Francis  W.  Jackson,  now  auditor  of  the  Society,  was  en- 
gaged August  23,  1864.     Mr.  Jackson  says: 

During  the  dull  period  from  1877  to  1880  a  reorganization  of  the 
clerical  force  of  the  office  was  made  by  the  president,  and  as  business 
was  extremely  bad  at  that  time,  it  seemed  necessary  to  cut  down  the 
office  force.  Several  of  the  employees  whose  services  were  not  alto- 
gether acceptable  for  one  reason  or  another  were  discharged.  Among 
the  rest  was  one  who  had  been  with  the  Society  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  had  a  large  family,  and  his  dismissal  did  seem  a  great 
hardship.  The  chief  reason  for  dismissing  him  was  that  his  habits 
were  not  as  regular  as  they  should  have  been.  But  as  the  case 
seemed  so  painful,  Mr.  Jordan  and  I  went  to  see  the  president 
and  laid  the  facts  before  him.  He  heard  patiently  all  there  was  to 
be  said,  and  in  reply  simply  remarked :  "  J'V/iy  do  you  make  my  dtity 
any  harder  for  me  than  it  is  now  ?  "  We  felt  that  there  was  nothing 
more  to  be  said,  and  withdrew ;  but  we  learned  afterwards  that  Mr. 
Hyde  interested  himself  in  this  man's  case  and  obtained  a  position 
for  him  where  his  little  weaknesses  were  not  so  detrimental  to  his 
work  as  they  would  have  been  in  the  office  of  our  Society. 


MR.  BRIDGMAN'S    REMINISCENCES 

In  the  summer  of  1861  Mr.  Hyde  visited  Chicago.  He 
called  on  those  engaged  in  the  business  of  life  assurance,  among 
whom  I  was  one.  He  made  no  suggestion  to  any  agent  that 
he  should  sever  his  connection  with  the  company  he  was  serv- 
ing. His  purpose  seemed  rather  to  make  the  Equitable  well 
known  in  life  assurance  circles.  He  spoke  of  the  standing  of 
its  directors,  of  his  hope  that  the  Society  would  become 
worthy  of  the  name  he  had  given  it,  and  of  his  purpose 
to  make  it  all  that  a  company  should  be.  He  was  remark- 
ably handsome  and  agreeable,  but  there  was  nothing  in  his 
bright  eye  or  agreeable  manner  to  indicate  the  force  or  the 
varied  talents  with  which  I  was  to  become  familiar  a  few 
months  later.  There  was  something  about  him,  however, 
that  so  awakened  confidence  in  his  ability  that  I  soon  wrote, 
asking  him  what  inducements  he  was  disposed  to  offer  me 
to  join  the  Equitable.  His  reply  was  characteristic:  "Come 
to  New  York  at  once  at  my  expense."  I  went,  and  made  an 
agreement  to  remove  there  as  soon  as  possible.  Before  the 
Society  had  $200,000  in  assets,  capital  included,  I  was  pla- 
cing its  policies,  the  first  being  No.  1339,  on  my  own  life. 

It  was  not  an  easy  task  for  a  stranger,  during  the  early 
months  of  the  Civil  War,  to  place  the  policies  of  a  small  com- 
pany, with  no  surplus,  in  the  hands  of  the  people  of  New 
York,  and  I  am  confident  that  I  would  have  failed  utterly 
had  not  Mr.  Hyde  helped  me  in  the  beginning.  When  he 
went  with  me  to  see  any  one  he  used  but  few  words.       He 

181 


i82  APPENDIX 

simply  filled  in  the  blanks  in  the  application,  and  his  personal 
magnetism  won  the  signature.  There  was  an  indescribable 
something  about  him  too  winning  to  be  resisted. 

As  an  official  Mr.  Hyde  was  a  many-sided  man  even  then. 
He  had  the  courage  that  feared  no  obstacle,  the  force  to  make 
continuous  and  rapid  progress,  the  most  lofty  ambition,  and 
the  hot  blood  of  youth,  and  all  regulated  by  that  prudence 
that  never  permitted  him  to  depart  from  those  sound  mathe- 
matical principles  that  should  be  at  the  base,  and  at  every 
stage  of  the  building,  of  an  institution  built,  "  not  for  a  day, 
but  for  all  time."  As  he  began  early  to  revolutionize  the 
business  of  life  assurance,  he  soon  found  competition  enough 
to  test  his  strength.  If  it  were  fair  he  met  it  heroically.  If 
unfair  he  fought  it  with  relentless  vigor  until  it  was  abandoned 
or  rendered  harmless  by  exposure.  He  never  met  unfair 
competition  on  its  own  ground.  I  mean  by  this  that  he  never 
departed  from  sound  business  principles  because  some  com- 
petitor had  done  so.  In  early  days  he  was  not  disposed  to 
leave  adverse  criticism  unnoticed,  but  after  a  time  he  ceased 
to  be  disturbed  by  the  vaporings  of  the  small,  narrow,  theo- 
retical men  who  were  making  more  effort  to  prevent  the 
growth  of  the  Equitable  than  to  promote  the  growth  of  the 
companies  with  which  they  were  connected.  Great  as  were 
his  force  and  courage,  these  were  not  greater  than  his  will. 
He  abhorred  excuses  for  failure,  feeling  that  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  "cannot,"  unless  based  on  physical  impossibility. 
After  Mr.  Hyde  had  fully  made  up  his  mind  relative  to 
anything,  it  displeased  him  to  have  any  one  suggest  changes, 
or  to  manifest  reluctance  to  cooperate  in  putting  his  plans 
into  execution.  But  the  converse  was  equally  true.  Until 
his  mind  was  fully  made  up,  he  sought  suggestions  from  every 
source  that  he  thought  might  make  the  plan  in  his  mind  more 
effective.  Such  strength  of  will  could  not  fail  to  cause  some 
friction,  but  it  usually  cooled  off  quickly,  as  Mr.  Hyde  never 
harbored  long  any  feeling  of   ill  will  toward   those  who  had 


APPENDIX  183 

honestly  opposed  him.  In  fact,  he  frequently  changed  his 
decisions  in  minor  matters  voluntarily. 

In  1 86 1  the  home  of  the  Equitable  was  on  the  second  story 
of  No.  92  Broadway.  Four  rooms  were  then  sufficient  for 
its  business,  one  in  front,  one  in  the  center,  and  two  in  the 
rear,  one  of  the  latter  being  occupied  by  the  president,  the 
other  by  agents.  The  year  following,  however,  more  room 
was  taken  on  the  third  story,  and  long  before  the  Society 
left  that  locality  additional  room  was  found  by  communi- 
cating on  the  first  and  second  stories  of  Nos.  94  and  96 
Broadway. 

Even  in  those  days  of  small  things  Mr.  Hyde  displayed, 
and  put  into  exercise,  those  signal  powers  of  organization  that 
made  him  such  a  leader  of  men.  Although  a  great  leader, 
and  bold  where  he  could  see  his  way,  nevertheless  his  caution 
was  also  so  great  that  he  was  compelled  to  give  personal  at- 
tention to  details.  He  could  not  delegate  the  work  of  any 
department  sufficiently  to  save  himself  from  that  incessant 
toil  which  undoubtedly  shortened  his  life. 

No  one  knew  better  than  did  Mr.  Hyde,  however,  the  im- 
portance of  rest.  Ten  years  ago,  after  urging  me  to  take  the 
rest  that  he  thought  important  for  me  to  take,  he  spoke 
freely  and  feelingly  of  his  own  need  of  rest,  and  the  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  his  taking  it.  That  obstacle  was  his 
love  for  the  Equitable.  He  said  in  substance  this :  "  I  do 
not  need  the  compensation  I  am  receiving  from  the  So- 
ciety. Those  who  think  that  my  work  is  for  money  do 
not  know  my  motives.  If  it  were  not  for  my  pride  in  the 
Equitable  and  my  love  for  it,  no  salary  would  tempt  me  to 
render  the  service  that  takes  so  much  of  my  strength.  Were 
it  not  for  my  devotion  to  the  company,  I  would  spend  my  en- 
tire summer  here."  This  was  said  as  we  were  walking  one 
evening  about  the  grounds  of  his  beautiful  home  at  Bay 
Shore.  The  moon  was  at  the  full,  and  all  was  so  quiet,  save 
the  sound  of  the  sea  in  the  distance,  as  to  invite  the  rest  he 


i84  APPENDIX 

longed  for.  But  he  could  give  himself  but  little  of  the  luxury 
of  rest.  The  temperament  that  made  him  the  man  he  was 
compelled  him  to  concentrate  his  attention  precisely  where 
it  was  so  continuously  concentrated,  to  apply  his  powers  just 
where  they  were  so  persistently  applied.  It  would  take  a 
large  volume  to  fitly  mention  the  reforms  he  introduced.  I 
will  mention  but  one — the  prompt  payment  of  every  loss, 
unless  it  was  clearly  fraudulent.  Many  years  ago,  after 
speaking  to  him  of  a  loss  that  came  soon  after  the  policy 
was  issued,  he  said  in  substance :  "  Losses  by  death  do  not 
disturb  me  in  the  least.  The  Equitable  is  in  business  to  pay 
losses.  It  was  not  organized  to  engage  in  litigation  with 
widows  and  fatherless  children,  or  to  make  money  by  receiv- 
ing interest  on  what  may  be  due  them,  or  by  discounting 
policies  that  should  be  paid  immediately  and  in  full."  The 
sooner  losses  were  paid  the  better  he  was  pleased.  Imme- 
diate payment  was  one  of  the  reforms  he  introduced.  The 
only  department  to  which  Mr.  Hyde  gave  but  little  attention 
was  the  department  in  which  losses  were  settled. 

All  who  knew  Mr.  Hyde  personally  or  by  reputation,  in- 
cluding his  strongest  competitors,  were  never  in  doubt  of  the 
fact  that  he  was  a  man  of  marked  and  striking  individuality 
and  force,  of  keen  observation,  of  tireless  energy,  of  perse- 
vering industry,  of  indomitable  will,  and  of  courage  great 
enough  to  fear  no  obstacle,  to  quail  before  no  adversary.  Such 
a  man  could  not  fail  to  take  and  hold  an  exalted  place,  nor 
fail  to  win  admiration  in  every  circle  in  which  he  moved. 

Measured  by  years,  Mr.  Hyde  was  not  given  gieat  length 
of  life,  but  measured  by  his  achievements,  few  men  have  lived 
so  long.  He  now  rests  from  his  labors,  but  his  work  will 
follow  him  through  many  generations  to  lessen  the  burdens 
that  bereavement  will  bring  to  many  homes  in  many  lands, 
t  William  H.  Bridgman. 


MR.  BLISS'S   REMINISCENCES 

Sometimes  I  think  of  Mr.  Hyde  as  he  was  when  he  solicited 
me  to  apply  for  an  insurance  on  my  life.  An  "  ordinary  life 
policy "  was  the  only  form  spoken  of,  and  from  this  the 
policy-holder  was  not  to  receive  a  dividend  until  the  end  of 
five  years ;  but  the  system  of  holding  back  dividends  was 
doubtless  the  safeguard  of  an  infant  insurance  company  at 
that  time.  My  examination  was  in  a  form  so  brief  and  simple 
that  it  now  appears  to  be  ludicrous  when  compared  with  the 
long,  complex,  and  scientific  form  in  use  to-day,  its  most  urgent 
questions  being,  "  Have  you  had  the  yellow  fever?  "  "  Have 
you  had  the  smallpox?"  It  was  indorsed  by  Mr.  Hyde  and 
approved  by  Dr.  Lambert  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  August, 
1859  ;  the  next  day  I  paid  the  premium  and  received  a  policy 
for  $5000. 

At  that  time  many  intelligent  people  were  looking  askance 
at  life  insurance,  or  they  were  regarding  it  as  a  future  rather 
than  a  present  necessity ;  and  so  long  as  they  believed  them- 
selves to  be  in  good  health  they  were  not  ready  to  apply  for 
a  policy  nor  willing  to  be  persuaded  to  take  one.  But  in  Mr. 
Hyde's  view  the  time  for  a  man  to  take  a  life  insurance  is 
when  he  can  get  it.  His  exhortation  was  like  that  of  the 
ancient  sun-dial  which  said  to  every  passer-by  :  "  Make  use  of 
the  day,  for  the  night  cometh  " ;  and  his  wonderful  success 
in  persuading  reluctant  men  to  be  insured  while  the  oppor- 
tunity was  at  hand  showed  him  to  be  the  chief  of  life  insur- 
ance solicitors. 

185 


i86  APPENDIX 

When  he  was  considering  plans  for  launching  the  Equi- 
table Life  Assurance  Society,  which  had  been  framed  in  his 
mind,  he  was  living  in  bachelor  apartments  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Irving  Place  and  Fifteenth  Street,  New  York  city. 
In  that  house  his  plans  for  the  proposed  company  were  dis- 
cussed, evening  after  evening,  with  a  few  intimate  friends  who 
were  desirous  to  do  what  they  could  in  aid  of  his  venture. 
These  included  at  times  his  father,  the  only  one  of  the  coterie 
who  personally  knew  the  roughness  of  the  road  that  was  to 
be  traveled. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  always  the  impressive  personality  of  the 
company  which  he  had  created.  His  enthusiasm  for  it  was 
ever  in  a  steady  glow ;  and  with  such  care  did  he  watch  over 
the  large  and  the  small  details  of  its  business  that  he  became 
eminently  qualified  to  adopt,  as  he  did,  every  reasonable  im- 
provement which  had  been  made  possible  or  necessary  by 
the  progress  of  time,  the  growth  of  the  Equitable,  or  the 
demands  of  public  opinion.  He  believed  in  the  dignity  of 
life  insurance  and  in  its  importance  as  a  factor  in  the  welfare 
of  communities.  He  would  present  it  to  the  public  in  a 
serious  way,  and  he  would  have  men  reminded  of  it  daily. 
In  a  memorandum  addressed  to  me  in  January,  1883,  he 
said:  "  I  think  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  get  up  a  calendar 
on  a  card,  with  little  squares  of  paper  for  every  day,  contain- 
ing some  motto  about  life  insurance,  pasted  on  the  front.  It 
seems  to  me  a  good  way  to  attract  a  man's  attention,  crack- 
ing at  him  every  morning  with  a  life  insurance  reminder." 

His  idea  that  life  insurance  is  a  subject  to  be  treated  with 
serious  thoughts  I  can  illustrate  by  various  memoranda  sent 
to  me.  In  one  of  December,  1888,  he  said:  "In  the  next 
number  of  our  insurance  paper  I  think  I  would  quote  Shak- 
spere's  '  Seven  Ages  of  Man  '  or  Addison's  '  Vision  of  Mir- 
zah.'  Also  look  through  the  '  Compendium  of  Shakespeare,' 
in  which  his  writings  are  arranged  according  to  subjects,  and 
if  you  find  any  appropriate  thoughts  about  life  and  death  I 


APPENDIX  187 

think  it  would  be  well  to  make  use  of  them.  Also  write  an 
article  showing  when  a  man  intends  to  get  a  life  insurance  it 
is  one  of  the  most  important  transactions  he  can  enter  into. 
If  he  intends  to  buy  a  house  and  lot,  or  even  to  buy  a  horse, 
he  is  very  particular  to  investigate  everything  about  it.  His 
insurance  contract  may  last  thirty  or  forty  years,  and  he 
ought  to  be  certain  that  he  enters  the  best  company.  I  do 
not  want  the  article  to  be  so  serious  that  a  person  reading  it 
will  take  about  ten  years  to  investigate  before  insuring." 

In  a  memorandum  of  January,  1889,  he  said:  "  I  wish  you 
would  be  on  the  lookout  for  some  appropriate  poetry  for  our 
insurance  paper.  What  we  want  is  serious  poetry.  We  do 
not  want  'Jim  Bludsoe,'  now  the  Mississippi  accident  has 
passed."  In  another  memorandum  he  said:  "I  value  your 
articles  on  life  insurance,  and  like  the  style  in  which  you  v/rite 
them.  The  use  of  good  English  and  plain  sentences  goes 
a  good  way  in  this  world.  The  other  day  I  went  into  Scrib- 
ner's.  The  young  man  who  waited  on  me  said:  'Your  com- 
pany made  me  feel  very  badly. '  '  What  have  we  done  ? '  I  asked. 
He  replied  :  '  You  rejected  my  application  for  a  life  insurance, 
and  I  cannot  get  over  it.  I  thought  I  was  in  perfect  health.' 
You  might  take  this  as  a  text  for  an  article  in  our  paper." 

As  the  years  went  by,  and  the  course  of  the  Equitable 
Society  was  crowned  with  a  continuous  success,  Mr.  Hyde's 
thoughts  turned  back  to  its  early  days,  and  he  endeavored  to 
collect  for  preservation  all  objects  that  had  been  associated 
with  them,  such  as  the  sign  affixed  to  the  entrance  of  the  first 
office  of  the  Society,  the  first  desk  at  which  he  had  his  official 
seat,  the  first  circular  and  the  first  advertisement  which  he 
issued  to  the  public,  and  indeed  everything  that  had  to  do 
with  the  small  beginnings  of  the  year  1859. 

It  was  nearly  twenty  years  after  the  Equitable  Society 
began  to  do  business  when  Mr.  Hyde  took  his  first  vacation, 
persuaded  to  do  so  by  an  ill  condition  of  his  health.  He 
then  invited  me  to  be  his  companion  on  a  journey  around  the 


i88  APPENDIX 

world.  We  sailed  from  New  York  for  England  on  Septem- 
ber 21,  1878,  and  returned  to  New  York  from  Japan  on  June 
21,  1879.  Although  he  was  occasionally  so  ill  as  to  require 
medical  attendance  during  the  early  part  of  the  journey,  he 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  diversions  of  travel ;  but  his  business 
habits  were  so  natural  that  he  could  not  refrain,  until  we 
reached  the  opposite  side  of  the  globe,  from  keeping  himself 
in  touch,  by  mail  and  telegraph,  with  the  ofhce  at  120  Broad- 
way. After  touring  in  Europe,  we  sailed  from  Marseilles  for 
Egypt;  there  we  loitered  awhile,  and  then  on  Christmas  day 
of  1878  we  departed  from  Cairo  for  Suez,  Bombay,  and  the 
farthest  East.  In  every  city  where  we  tarried,  whether  of 
India,  China,  or  Japan,  he  searched  factories  and  bazaars  for 
rare  works  of  native  art.  Every  object  constructed  by  man's 
hand  that  was  great  or  refined  attracted  his  thoughtful  atten- 
tion. At  Agra  he  made  visits  by  daylight  and  moonlight  to 
the  delicate  Taj  Mahal,  so  enchanted  was  he  with  its  beauty. 
Writing  from  Calcutta  to  my  father  and  mother  at  home,  he 
said  :  "  I  wish  you  could  see  the  Taj.  It  would  bring  to  your 
mind  what  St.  John  relates  of  his  vision  on  the  island  of  Pat- 
mos.  We  have  a  very  large  book  of  photographs,  and  can 
show  you  many  things  on  our  return,  but  you  cannot  realize 
the  beauty  of  the  Taj  unless  you  see  it." 

I  could  not  be  with  him  for  so  long  a  time  and  under  such 
varying  circumstances  without  discovering  his  good  qualities 
as  a  companion  of  travel,  and  his  knowledge  in  matters  of 
art  and  literature.  It  was  easy  to  notice  that  his  judgments 
of  men  and  things  were  not  borrowed.  When  criticizing 
some  of  the  heroes  of  history  I  have  heard  him  condemn  the 
popular  estimate  of  Napoleon  for  the  reason  that  the  man 
obtained  no  ultimate  success,  nor  knew,  as  one  of  his  mar- 
shals said,  how  to  die  as  a  soldier.  He  never  described  the 
greatness  of  an  achievement  by  the  adjective  "Napoleonic." 

Although   Mr.  Hyde  visited    Europe   many  times   in   later 
years,   that   journey    around    the    world  afforded  him    more 


APPENDIX  189 

pleasures  for  memory  than  did  any  other  foreign  tour.  He 
frequently  advised  his  traveling  friends  to  follow  his  example. 
In  a  letter  written  to  me  from  Paris  in  April,  1885,  the 
journey  was  still  uppermost  in  his  mind:  "  I  have  thought  of 
you  a  great  many  times  since  I  left  New  York.  On  my  way 
to  Algiers  I  took  breakfast  in  the  same  coffee-room  at  the 
Hotel  du  Louvre  et  de  la  Paix  where  we  stopped  in  '78.  I 
sat  in  the  same  seat,  only  Julien  Davies  was  not  in  the  other 
end  of  the  room,  and  you  were  not  opposite,  as  then.  I 
drove  all  about  Marseilles,  took  the  same  drives  that  we  took, 
went  up  to  the  Cathedral  on  the  hill,  etc.  Then  I  went 
along  the  Riviera,  stopping  at  Cannes,  Nice,  Monte  Carlo, 
and  Mentone.  The  only  part  of  my  former  trip  that  I  can- 
not remember  is  along  this  line.  I  think  I  must  have  been 
pretty  sick  at  the  time.  I  found  that  Nice  did  not  look  at  all 
as  I  had  remembered  it.  While  I  remember  the  rest  of  my  trip 
very  distinctly  all  the  way  through,  this  part  seems  to  have 
faded  out  of  my  mind,  although  I  remember  Marseilles.  I 
would  really  like  to  go  away  with  you  again,  as  I  have  such 
pleasant  recollections  of  our  voyage  around  the  world." 

In  administering  the  affairs  of  the  Equitable  office  Mr. 
Hyde's  sense  of  justice  was  such  that  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
reverse  an  act  or  an  opinion  if  it  had  been  shown  to  him  to  be 
erroneous.  His  intellect  was  so  clear  that  he  could  see  at 
once  the  tendency  of  new  plans  proposed  to  him,  and  he  was 
able  to  decide  whether  they  were  fit  to  be  considered  or  re- 
jected. He  could  express  strong  indignation  at  wrong-doings 
and  at  blunders  or  mistakes  caused  by  inattention  to  duty ; 
yet  he  had  sympathetic  and  what  I  may  call  paternal  feel- 
ings for  those  who  were  true  to  the  interests  of  the  busi- 
ness which  he  had  founded.  One  who  has  been  in  the  office 
many  years,  whose  industry  and  modesty  of  demeanor  are 
well  known  to  his  associates,  said  to  him :  "  Mr.  Hyde,  I  am 
very  tired.     I  feel  used  up.     I  want  to  resign  and  go  away." 

"  James,  go  to  Europe,"  said   Mr.  Hyde ;  "  go   as  soon  as 


190 


APPENDIX 


you  can  get  ready;  be  gone  a  year  if  you  like;  your  salary 
shall  be  continued,  and  I  will  allow  you  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars for  expenses." 

Accordingly  he  went  to  Europe,  was  away  four  months, 
and  then  returned  in  good  health  to  his  former  duties  in  the 
office. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  not  forgetful  of  the  members  of  the  office 
force  when  they  were  in  affliction.  It  was  his  custom  to 
communicate  his  sympathies  by  letter,  and  sometimes  orally, 
for  the  latter  purpose  sending  a  messenger  from  his  private 
room  saying:  "Mr.  Hyde  wants  to  see  you."  There  are 
many  men  connected  with  the  Equitable  who  can  say  that 
they  have  been  comforted  by  his  sympathy  at  such  times. 
Writing  to  one  in  1880,  he  said:  "The  announcement  of 
death  makes  us  pause  in  the  hurry  of  cur  occupations.  Dur- 
ing my  business  life  many  such  announcements  have  come  to 
me;  and  I  often  think  of  the  hymn, 

Friend  after  friend  departs ; 

Who  hath  not  lost  a  friend? 
There  is  no  union  here  of  hearts 

That  hath  not  here  its  end." 

Although  Mr.  Hyde  was  the  founder,  the  president,  and 
the  active  manager  of  one  of  the  largest  and  most  popular 
life  insurance  companies  that  ever  existed,  he  showed  no 
pride  of  office.  His  tastes  were  simple,  his  daily  life  unosten- 
tatious, his  feelings  democratic ;  and  withal  there  was  a  ten- 
der strain  in  his  nature  which  caused  those  who  knew  him 
well  to  regard  him  with  esteem,  and  to  regret  that  he  passed 
away  before  his  time, 

William  Root  Bliss. 


REMINISCENCES    OF   THE    OLDEST   AGENTS 

None  of  the  agents  who  canvassed  for  the  Equitable  when 
it  was  first  organized  are  alive  to-day;  but  there  are  still  a 
number  who  became  identified  with  the  Society  in  the  sixties. 
Of  these  N.  W.  Foster  of  Riverhead,  Long  Island,  made  a 
contract  with  the  Society  January  22,  1861.    Mr.  Foster  says: 

Tlie  first  policy  issued  through  my  agents  was  No.  954,  on  my 
own  life,  dated  February  5,  1861.  I  had  written  for  an  agency,  and 
received  a  satisfactory  communication  from  the  Society,  in  which  the 
following  advice  was  embodied :  "  If  you  are  going  to  ask  others  to 
assure,  you  ought  to  have  a  policy  on  your  own  life."  The  policy 
is  now  forty  years  old,  and  I  am  still  paying  premiums  on  it. 

It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  note  that  the  Society  has  paid 
the  assurance  on  the  lives  of  two  of  my  policy-holders  where  no 
proofs  of  death  could  be  presented.  They  were  both  st^afaring  men, 
whose  ships  were  lost  at  sea.  The  assurance  in  one  case  enabled  the 
widow  to  keep  her  family  together  and  train  her  children  for  useful 
careers.  In  both  cases  the  prompt  payment  of  the  assurance  was 
of  almost  inestimable  value. 

W.  H.  S.  Whitcomb  of  Burlington,  Vermont,  did  not  make 
a  contract  direct  with  the  Society  until  the  summer  of  1871, 
but  the  first  policy  issued  through  his  instrumentality,  No. 
949,  was  written  in  February,  1861,  and  antedates  the  one  on 
Mr.  Foster's  life.      Mr.  Whitcomb  says: 

Early  in  the  year  1861  I  led  my  first  customer  into  the  office  of 
Charles  J.  Alger,  the  representative  of  the  Equitable  in  Burlington. 

191 


192 


APPENDIX 


Policy  No.  949  was  issued  on  his  life.  Ten  years  after  securing  my 
first  policy  for  the  Equitable  I  engaged  with  it  regularly,  and  have 
been  one  of  the  Equitable's  managers  ever  since.  The  first  interview 
with  Mr.  Hyde  satisfied  me  that  I  should  be  pleased  with  a  business 
relation  with  him.  I  had  been  advised  by  the  Hon.  L.  G.  B.  Cannon 
that  Mr.  Hyde  would  probably  be  the  foremost  man  in  the  world  in 
the  business  of  life  assurance.  Other  companies  had  attained  great 
positions  when  I  secured  my  first  application  for  the  Equitable,  but  I 
did  not  find  any  of  the  officers  of  other  companies  characterized  as  Mr. 
Hyde  was  spoken  of.  He  must  have  impressed  men  even  at  the  be- 
ginning as  a  person  of  unusual  endowments  and  rare  ability. 

He  said  to  me  that  if  I  wanted  to  engage  with  a  company  in 
which  the  agent  and  the  policy-holder  were  both  cared  for,  in  which 
there  was  no  "  note  humbuggery  "  (which  was  the  disease  of  assur- 
ance at  that  time),  he  could  give  me  a  situation  that  I  would  after- 
wards, when  I  came  to  know  more  about  it,  be  pleased  to  hold.  I 
had  not  been  with  the  Society  three  months  before  he  came  to  Bur- 
lington and  outlined  to  me  his  idea  of  the  assurance  business.  He 
was  a  genius  in  his  way  of  getting  at  the  subject-matter  to  be  con- 
sidered. Nothing  seemed  to  be  able  to  deter  him  from  what  he 
thought  was  right.  He  was  aggressive  beyond  any  man  I  ever 
saw.  His  mastery  of  details  was  something  unusual,  and  while  he 
was  so  aggressive,  so  forceful,  so  thoroughly  masterful,  there  was 
yet  something  about  him  that  never  in  the  least  degree  offended.  I 
cannot  now  recall  a  single  expression  that  he  ever  used  toward  me 
that  was  in  the  least  degree  likely  to  wound  my  feelings.  Often- 
times he  had  put  his  arm  around  me  and  asked  me  if  I  would  not  do 
certain  things  for  the  Equitable,  as  though  he  were  my  own  brother. 
I  came  to  believe  him  the  most  wonderful  man  ever  connected  with 
our  business. 

William  H.  Bridgman  also  began  to  work  for  the  Society 
as  an  agent  in  1861.  Subsequently  he  joined  the  office  force. 
His  reminiscences  have  already  been  given. 

William  Harlan  Page,  who  has  represented  the  Society 
in  the  city  of  New  York  continuously  since  the  autumn  of 
1865,  says: 


APPENDIX 


193 


In  the  earlier  days  of  the  Society,  when  at  No.  92  Broadway  we 
were  working  in  three  small  rooms  for  offices,  Mr.  Hyde  impressed 
me  as  a  man  of  most  marvelous  versatility,  of  wonderful  intuition, 
knowledge  of  men,  genius  in  winning  men  and  handling  them,  and 
a  happy  faculty  of  keeping  us  in  a  state  of  splendid  esprit  de  corps, 
and  our  enthusiasm  and  good  feeling  always  at  the  highest  pitch. 
He  had  a  noble  purpose — to  lay  foundations  broad  for  future 
success.  I  well  remember  when  he  rented  two  or  three  rooms 
in  the  adjoining  building,  and  some  of  us  thought  he  was  broaden- 
ing out  ahead  of  the  business ;  but  his  far-sightedness  was  beyond 
us  all.  He  saw  clearly  how  to  move  and  execute  when  others  had 
only  a  glimpse.  We  could  not  help  but  follow  in  his  lead  to  the 
great  success  we  have  since  attained. 

In  those  days  he  often  went  out  canvassing  to  aid  us  in  closing 
risks.  I  remember,  one  day  in  1865,  taking  him  down  the  street  to 
clinch  a  man  whose  main  argument  to  me  was  that  he  did  not 
believe  in  Mr.  Hyde.  Together  we  soon  convinced  him  that  he  had 
better  not  disbelieve,  and  closed  him  then  and  there  for  a  good-sized 
policy. 

I.  Layton  Register  of  Philadelphia,  who  has  represented 
the  Society  without  interruption  since  the  early  part  of  the 
year  1866,  says : 

Mr.  Hyde  was  one  of  those  men  who  was  ever  thoughtful  of  the 
interests  of  agents,  and  won  them  over  to  him  even  though  he 
scolded  them.  He  often  dropped  into  my  oifice  when  passing 
through  Philadelphia.  Sometimes  we  would  take  a  drive  together, 
and  his  ripened  experience  and  helpful  spirit  made  his  conversation, 
at  such  times,  not  only  intensely  interesting,  but  of  great  practical 
value.  I  am  sure  that  the  strongest  tie  which  bound  the  old  agents 
to  Mr.  Hyde  was  their  knowledge  that  he  was  their  friend. 

T.  B.  Penton,  whose  first  contract  with  the  Society  was 
dated  May  31,  1866,  says: 

When  I  came  from  the  West  to  New  York  in  1865,  the  Society 
was  so  young  and  so  little  known  that  I  found  it  necessary  to  talk 


194  APPENDIX 

Mr.  Hyde  rather  than  the  Equitable.  Many  men  would  say :  "  I 
don't  know  anything  about  your  company,  but  I  know  you  very 
well,  and  I  recognize  the  sort  of  man  that  Mr.  Hyde  is,  and  so  I'll 
take  a  policy.     Hurrah  for  Hyde  !  " 

I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Hyde  by  James  H.  McCorkle,  one  of  the 
Society's  earhest  agents,  and  in  a  few  moments  I  had  made  a  con- 
tract. You  know  that  two  words  from  Mr.  Hyde  were  equivalent 
to  forty  words  from  an  ordinary  man.  Many  a  time  during  my 
early  struggles  I  should  have  failed  utterly  if  Mr.  Hyde  had  not 
come  to  my  rescue.  He  was  always  kind  and  considerate  and  fer- 
tile in  suggestion,  and  a  talk  with  him  always  gave  me  new  courage 
and  renewed  power. 

B.  R.  Miller,  whose  first  contract  with  the  Society  was 
dated  March    3,1,    1867,  says: 

Mr.  Hyde's  first  office  was  only  about  ten  by  seven.  He  had  a 
small  table  in  it  and,  I  think,  two  chairs.  When  his  hat  and  gloves 
were  on  the  table,  I  used  to  think  there  was  room  for  nothing  else ; 
but  his  field  of  operations  was  not  restricted  to  his  desk  or  his  office. 

The  Equitable  was  never  out  of  Mr.  Hyde's  mind  when  he  was 
awake,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  dreamed  of  the  Society  during  all 
his  sleeping  hours.  In  -the  old  days,  after  business  hours,  I  often 
walked  up  Broadway  with  him,  and  our  conversation  was  always 
about  life  assurance.  Sometimes  he  would  say :  "  Let's  pick  out 
all  the  men  whom  we  think  we  could  assure  for  $10,000."  Then  we 
would  walk  along  like  a  couple  of  boys,  seeing  which  could  find  the 
most. 

He  was  always  ready  to  go  out  with  an  agent  who  had  any  push 
in  him,  and  on  such  occasions  would  put  ofiF  any  caller — even  a  bank 
president. 

Mr.  Hyde  never  gave  up  anything  that  he  undertook  to  do.  He 
asked  me  on  one  occasion  to  tr)'  my  hand  at  collecting  certain  debts 
which  lawyers,  professional  collectors,  and  others  had  vainly  attempted 
to  secure.  I  felt  that  after  all  the  others  had  failed  it  was  not  hkely 
that  I  would  succeed,  but  he  was  so  persistent  that  I  agreed  to  make 
the  attempt.  Among  others,  I  struck  a  man  who  owed  $1 200.  He  told 
me  he  would  settle  the  account  in  a  few  days.    I  turned  the  bill  over, 


APPENDIX 


195 


showing  him  where  entries  had  been  made  of  the  different  dates  on 
which  he  had  promised  to  settle,  and  said :  "  If  you  can't  pay  all, 
pay  me  something  on  account."  Finally  he  went  to  his  cashier  and 
said  :  "  Give  this  gentleman  a  check  for  /talf  this  bill."  The  cashier 
was  busy  and  did  not  catch  what  was  said  to  him.  When  he  was 
able  to  give  me  his  attention  he  said:  "Have  you  the  bill?"  I 
handed  it  to  him,  and  he  gave  me  a  check  for  the  whole  amount. 
Then  I  slipped  quietly  out  of  the  office.  The  check  was  drawn  on 
the  Park  Bank,  and  I  went  to  the  teller  (whom  I  happened  to  know) 
and  said:  "  Give  me  twelve  one-hundred-dollar  bills  right  off;  I'm 
in  a  hurry."  I  then  took  the  money  to  the  office  of  the  Society,  and 
told  the  cashier  to  credit  the  amount  to  the  proper  account  at  once. 
Then,  having  told  Mr.  Hyde  what  I  had  done,  I  said :  "  That  man 
will  be  here  in  a  few  minutes  red-hot.  I'll  skip."  Soon  after  I  had 
gone,  the  man  came  in.  He  said  he  had  been  buncoed  out  of  his 
money  by  a  swindler.  The  inference  was  that  I  had  pocketed  the 
money,  and  that  neither  he  nor  the  Society  would  ever  see  it  again. 
Mr.  Hyde  listened  to  his  visitor's  story,  and  then  took  him  to  the  cash- 
ier's desk  and  asked  if  anything  had  been  paid.  When  Mr.  Jordan 
found  the  entry,  Mr.  Hyde  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  said:  "Oh, 
this  was  collected  by  Miller.  That  man  is  all  right.  If  you  had  told 
me  his  name  in  the  first  instance,  I  could  have  reassured  you  at  once." 
Mr.  Hyde  had  many  devices  for  stimulating  agents.  One  was  to 
pit  one  man  against  another.  Once  he  sent  for  me  and  said : 
"  Miller,  I  can  find  a  man  who  can  do  more  business  in  thirty  days 
than  you  can."  I  replied:  "If  you  can't  you  haven't  got  many 
good  men  about  you.  I  don't  feel  able  to  do  much  business  at 
present."  I  had  written  between  $150,000  and  $175,000  during  the 
previous  month.  Mr.  Hyde  went  on  to  say  that  he  thought  McCor- 
kle  (who  was  one  of  the  famous  canvassers  of  the  day)  could  beat 
me.  At  last  he  got  me  so  stirred  up  that  when  he  offered  to  bet  me 
one  hundred  dollars  that  McCorkle  could  do  more  business  than  I 
could  in  a  month,  I  took  the  bet.  Then  Mr.  Hyde  said :  "  I  want 
you  to  understand.  Miller,  that  if  McCorkle  should  at  any  time  wish 
me  to  go  with  him  to  see  one  of  his  clients  and  at  the  same  time 
you  should  wish  me  to  go  with  you,  I  shall  go  with  McCorkle." 
"All  right,"  I  said;  "  you  can  take  McCorkle  out  with  you  every 
day,  and  I'll  beat  both  of  you."     I  have  no  doubt  that  he  talked 


196  APPENDIX 

to  McCorkle  just  as  he  talked  to  me.  However  that  may  be,  I  won 
the  bet.  My  recollection  is  that  McCorkle  secured  $216,000,  and 
that  I  obtained  $563,000.  Mr.  Hyde  originated  the  plan  of  allotting 
to  each  agent  the  amount  of  business  expected  from  him  during  a 
given  period,  and  these  allotments  were  usually  entered  upon  cards 
and  sent  to  the  agents  with  a  stirring  letter  calling  upon  them  for 
their  best  efforts.  The  allotment  cards  covering  one  of  these  com- 
petitions, in  which  I  was  the  victor,  were  gathered  together  by  Mr. 
Hyde  and  placed  in  a  frame  and  hung  in  his  office,  with  the  amount 
written  by  the  agent  in  each  case  indorsed  on  his  card. 

One  morning  Mr.  Hyde  came  to  the  office  soon  after  eight  o'clock, 
when  he  and  Mr.  James  W.  Alexander  apportioned  to  each  agent  a 
certain  amount  of  work  for  the  day.  He  sent  out  a  letter  in 
which  he  said :  "  We  have  determined  to  write  $600,000  in  one 
day."  He  asked  me  to  contribute  $50,000.  I  told  him  I  could  not 
obtain  $50,000  in  a  single  day.  He  replied:  "You  can  if  you  try." 
I  went  out,  and  in  an  hour  I  had  assured  one  man  for  $15,000. 
in  the  afternoon  I  secured  another  for  $10,000.  When  I  went 
home  I  was  still  wondering  how  I  could  fill  my  allotment.  Finally 
I  remembered  a  tradesman  with  whom  I  often  had  dealings,  and 
to  whom  I  had  talked  some  time  before  about  assurance.  I  said 
to  myself  that  the  time  had  come  for  him  to  act,  or  I  would  have 
no  further  dealings  with  him.  I  telegraphed  to  Dr.  Lambert  that  I 
would  call  to  see  him  that  night  with  a  man  to  be  examined. 
After  dinner  I  went  to  a  livery  stable  and  got  a  carriage  and  in- 
vited the  man  to  take  a  drive  with  me.  Then  I  explained  what 
I  wanted,  and  said:  "You  must  come  with  me  and  get  your  as- 
surance to-night."  Finally  I  induced  him  to  go  with  me  to  Dr. 
Lambert's  house,  persuaded  him  to  sign  an  application,  and  a  policy 
was  afterwards  issued  for  $25,000,  which  is  still  in  force. 

When  business  fell  off,  Mr.  Hyde  would  write  letters  to  all  the 
agents.  He  used  to  say :  "  Get  your  business  under  such  headway 
that  you  can  every  now  and  then  jump  on  and  ride." 

Once  he  called  a  number  of  the  active  city  agents  together,  and 
offered  to  provide  a  cab  for  each  one  for  a  month  on  the  following 
conditions:  If  the  agent  secured  $100,000  of  assurance,  the  Society 
would  pay  for  the  cab ;  if  the  agent  failed,  he  would  have  to  pay. 
I  think  I  was  the  only  one  who  tried  the  experiment.     My  recollec- 


APPENDIX 


197 


tion  is  that  I  kept  the  cab  for  ninety  days  and  wrote  one  million  of 
business.  But  at  the  end  of  that  time  I  was  tired  out  and  good  for 
nothing  for  lack  of  exercise. 

The  recollections  of  Byron  A.  Beal,  who  became  identified 
with  the  Society  in  April,  1867,  although  his  first  direct  con- 
tract was  not  issued  until  July  8,  1868,  have  already  been 
quoted. 

W.  P.  Halsted  joined  the  Society  in  the  summer  of  1867, 
He  now  holds  the  official  position  of  collector,  but  in  those 
early  days  confined  his  efforts  to  canvassing  for  life  assurance. 
Mr.  Halsted  says: 

Mr.  Hyde  was  always  trying  to  please  and  encourage  the  agents, 
and  was  ready  at  all  times  to  accept  hints  and  suggestions. 

Away  back  in  the  sixties,  coming  in  out  of  the  cold  one  winter 
day,  down  at  the  old  office  at  No.  92  Broadway,  he  met  me  at  the 
door,  and  slapping  me  on  the  shoulder,  said :  "  Now,  here  is  a 
chance  for  you  to  win  a  prize — a  silver  pitcher  and  salver.  We're 
going  to  put  up  two  prizes,  and  you  can  certainly  win  one  if  you'll 
roll  up  your  sleeves  and  pitch  in."  The  magnetism  of  the  man 
made  me  feel  that  the  prize  was  mine  already ;  but  I  replied : 
"Mr.  Hyde,  I  don't  want  a  pitcher.  I  have  an  old  silver  watch 
here,  and  I  need  a  good  timepiece  that  I  may  fill  my  engagements 
to  the  minute  with  the  men  I'm  after."  Quick  as  lightning  he 
slapped  me  again  on  the  shoulder  and  said :  "  We'll  make  the 
prizes  two  first-class  watches."  I  was  so  encouraged  by  his  words 
that  I  pitched  in  and  won  one  of  those  watches — a  fine  imported 
Swiss  watch,  which  still  serves  me  faithfully.  James  M.  Brawner  of 
St.  Louis  won  the  other  watch.  These  were  the  first  watches  ever 
presented  by  the  Equitable  to  its  agents, 

Charles  Hopkins,  who  joined  the  Society  in  December,  1867, 
says : 

Mr.  Hyde  was  an  efficient  agent  before  he  became  president; 
and  this  was  a  prime  factor  in  his  success  as  a  manager  of  canvassers 
for  life  assurance.     He  sympathized  with  the  agent  in  his  trials  and 


198  APPENDIX 

difficulties.     He   was  quick  to  recognize  an  agent's  ability,  and  to 
show  his  appreciation  of  successful  achievement. 

One  cold  night  in  the  winter  of  1885  I  started  on  the  night 
train  for  Detroit  to  close  a  negotiation  for  a  $50,000  policy  with  a 
man  whose  enthusiasm  had  cooled.  I  spent  two  days  and  nights 
in  traveling  through  a  blizzard,  finally  walking  a  mile  through  a 
snow-drift  to  reach  him.  My  mission  was  successful,  and  on  my 
way  back  to  New  York  I  telegraphed  Mr.  Hyde  that  in  spite  of 
the  blizzard  I  had  secured  the  application.  Mr.  Hyde  showed  my 
telegram  to  all  the  agents  in  the  office,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  used 
it  as  a  lever  to  obtain  a  large  amount  of  additional  business. 

Samuel  Pickford,  whose  first  contract  with  the  Society  was 
dated  January  8,  1869,  says: 

When  I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Hyde,  I  said :  "  Mr.  Hyde,  do 
you  beheve  that  I  will  make  a  successful  agent?  "  He  laid  both 
hands  on  my  shoulders,  and  looking  me  full  in  the  face  as  if  he  could 
see  right  through  me,  he  replied  :  "  Young  man,  come  with  me  and  I 
will  take  care  of  you.  I  have  no  doubt  of  your  success."  He 
placed  me  under  Mr.  Page's  care  to  learn  the  business,  and  I  was 
associated  with  him  for  about  a  year  before  making  a  contract  direct 
with  the  Society. 

Mr.  Hyde's  firmness  in  adhering  to  fundamental  principles  in 
governing  the  Equitable  has  often  been  impressed  upon  me.  On 
one  occasion  a  Sunday  newspaper  published  a  violent  attack  upon 
the  management  of  the  Society.  I  happened  to  be  the  first  agent 
at  the  office  on  the  following  Monday  morning.  When  Mr.  Hyde 
saw  me,  he  said :  "  Pickford,  have  you  read  that  article  against  the 
Equitable?  What  do  you  think  of  it?"  "It  is  blackmail!  "  I 
answered.  "  Yes,"  he  said ;  and  bringing  his  hand  down  upon  the 
desk,  he  continued :  "  I'll  see  the  Equitable  sunk  so  deep  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  that  a  flash  of  lightning  will  never  resurrect  it 
before  I  will  consent  to  pay  directly  or  indirectly  a  dollar  of  black- 
mail. I  have  no  doubt  about  the  success  of  the  Society ;  and,  Pick- 
ford, let  us  work  together  this  year  to  make  the  Equitable  more 
successful  than  it  has  ever  been  before."  This  attack  was  quickly 
turned  to  the  Society's  advantage. 


APPENDIX  199 

On  another  occasion  I  introduced  a  gentleman  to  Mr.  Hyde  who 
intimated  that  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the  management  of  the 
Society.  Mr.  Hyde  astonished  him  by  replying :  "  So  am  I  dissat- 
isfied with  the  management  of  the  Equitable ;  but  as  long  as  I  am 
connected  with  it  I  intend  to  strive  to  make  its  management  better 
and  better  every  year."  He  said  "  Good  morning,"  and  my 
visitor  joined  our  ranks  without  further  demur. 

One  day  as  Mr.  Hyde  was  hastening  to  a  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  he  turned  as  he  passed  my  desk  to  ask  me  how  I  was 
getting  along.  He  thus  failed  to  observe  a  little  girl  who  was  sell- 
ing shoe-laces  and  matches,  and  ran  against  her.  She  had  a  number 
of  pennies  in  her  hand,  and  they  fell  to  the  marble  floor.  Although 
Mr.  Hyde  was  in  great  haste,  he  stopped  to  pick  up  the  pennies, 
slipping  into  the  pile  a  coin  from  his  own  pocket.  As  he  put  the 
money  into  the  child's  hand,  he  said :  "  Excuse  me ;  I  didn't  mean 
to  do  it,"  and  then  hurried  on  to  his  meeting. 

R.  Textor,  whose  first  contract  with  the  Society  was  dated 
May,  1869,  says: 

Mr.  Hyde  was  prompt  to  show  his  appreciation  of  those  agents 
who  were  successful.  Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  were  unsuccess- 
ful promptly  discovered  that  he  had  his  eye  upon  them,  and  that  he 
valued  them  according  to  their  merits.  He  often  said,  "  It  is  better 
to  wear  off  the  soles  of  your  shoes  than  the  seat  of  your  breeches." 

E.  A.  Spencer,  whose  first  contract  with  the  Society  was 
dated  September  10,  1869,  has  already  been  quoted.  He 
is  the  last  of  the  remaining  agents  who  came  with  the  Equi- 
table in  the  sixties.^ 

1  It  would  be  interesting  to  hear  also  from  agents,  still  living,  who  joined 
the  Society  in  1870  and  in  subsequent  years  ;  but  lack  of  space  forbids. 


DR.   BOMBAUGH'S  REMINISCENCES 

Twenty-eight  years  ago,  in  the  columns  of  the  "  Baltimore 
Underwriter,"  the  writer  passed  in  review  the  names  and 
characteristics  of  the  pioneers  of  life  insurance  in  the  United 
States,  the  master  spirits  whose  commemorative  statues  were 
presumably  destined  to  fill  the  vacant  niches  in  the  insurance 
Valhalla.  He  took  his  text  from  Ecclesiasticus  xliv.  7  :  "  All 
these  were  honored  in  their  generations,  and  were  the  glory 
of  their  times."  Credit  was  given  to  the  leaders  of  the  most 
important  financial  and  sociological  movement  of  an  eventful 
period  for  patient  and  faithful  labor  in  upbuilding  the  temple 
of  life  insurance,  in  disseminating  the  blessings  and  benefits 
of  the  insurance  system,  and  in  training  agents  and  educating 
the  public.  In  a  memorable  group  of  contemporaneous  work- 
ers one  figure  was  conspicuous — Henry  B.  Hyde.  He  was  too 
busy  with  the  task  of  inspiring  his  fellow- workers  with  his  own 
enthusiasm,  of  arousing  in  the  apathetic  new  energy  and  un- 
accustomed earnestness,  of  harmonizing  opposing  forces  and 
mastering  adverse  conditions,  of  winning  and  enlisting  recruits, 
of  extending  the  boundaries  of  organization  and  expanding 
the  area  of  achievement,  to  concern  himself  with  his  own  in- 
dividuality. It  was  the  brilliant  success  of  the  Equitable,  not 
self-exaltation,  that  constituted  his  pleasure  and  his  pride.  In 
its  growth,  its  advancement,  its  triumph,  from  year  to  year, 
was  transparently  shown  the  end  and  aim  of  his  life,  his 
"heart's  desire  and  prayer,"  his  supreme  ambition.  In  the 
gradual  approaches  toward  the  attainment  of  his  ideal  were 

200 


APPENDIX  20I 

exhibited  a  breadth  of  operation,  a  display  of  sagacity  and 
boldness,  a  degree  of  endurance  and  of  unsparing  effort,  which 
furnished  material  for  the  most  remarkable  chapter  in  the  his- 
tory of  life  insurance. 

On  several  occasions,  in  the  course  of  different  tours  in 
Europe,  the  writer  met  Mr.  Hyde  while  traveling  ostensibly 
for  "  rest  and  recreation."  It  was  plainly  perceptible  that  in 
his  case  rest  and  recreation  meant  renewed  activity  in  another 
sphere  of  operation.  These  terms  were  synonyms  for  inces- 
sant exercise  of  executive  ability,  fresh  impulses  of  genius,  and 
fresh  demonstration  of  fertility  of  resources.  For  one  with 
such  faculty  of  leadership  there  was  no  rest  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  restfulness.  And  so  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  mech- 
anism stopped  the  wheels  of  life  in  time  to  deprive  his  sad- 
dened associates  of  his  presence  at  the  celebration  of  the 
fortieth  anniversary  of  the  Equitable. 

The  proposition  to  erect  a  portrait  statue  in  the  Equitable 

Building,  itself  one  of  the  grandest  of  monuments,  commands 

universal  approbation. 

Charles  C.  Bombaugh. 


MR.    LAKEY'S    REMINISCENCES 

I  RECALL  meeting  Mr.  Hyde  on  a  day  in  late  autumn,  1864, 
in  the  old  office,  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  on  the  block  where 
the  great  Equitable  Building  now  stands.  He  was  then 
about  thirty- two  years  of  age,  tall,  spare,  straight,  quick  in 
movement.  I  was  in  the  employ  of  another  company,  and 
called  for  information  regarding  some  policy  issued  by  the 
Equitable.  Mr.  Hyde's  open  manner  won  me  at  once.  He 
answered  my  questions,  and  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  what 
the  Society  was  doing.  What  impressed  me  then,  and  what 
impressed  me  most  until  the  day  the  great  man  ceased  to  take 
an  active  interest  in  life  insurance  affairs,  was  the  strength  of 
his  personality.  At  the  time  I  speak  of,  the  Equitable  was 
not  looked  upon  as  a  formidable  rival  by  what  were  then 
considered  the  great  companies.  But  even  then  there  were  to- 
kens on  the  part  of  the  young  company  of  strength  of  pinion  ; 
growth  had  not  been  phenomenal,  but  it  was  hardy. 

Mr.  Hyde's  manner  was  an  augury.  A  glance  at  his 
speaking  face  showed  the  confidence  he  had  in  the  future  of 
the  Equitable.  I  am  not  so  sure  that  the  prophetic  instinct 
no  longer  exists,  that  coming  events  do  not  sometimes  cast 
their  shadows  before.  How  could  this  man  have  wrought 
as  he  did  at  the  beginning  had  he  not  had  some  vision  of 
the  things  that  were  to  be?  And  did  not  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy belong  to  life  insurance  in  its  earlier  day,  seeing  that  it 
has  come  to  be  one  of  the  noblest  expressions  of  Christianity 
itself,  the  doing  of  good  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  ?     On 


APPENDIX  203 

its  fortieth  anniversary  the  Equitable  had  paid  to  widows  and 
orphans,  directly  and  indirectly,  since  it  received  its  first  pre- 
mium, the  vast  sum  of  three  hundred  and  ten  million  dollars. 
One  might  get  a  more  picturesque  effect  could  he  see  all 
this  treasure  expressed  in  cathedrals,  churches,  and  hospitals ; 
but  the  more  noble  view  is  in  the  rebuilding  of  shattered 
homes,  in  the  answer  it  makes  to  the  cry  of  the  children. 

Now,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  Mr.  Hyde  did  really  see 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  my  personal  opinion  being  that 
he  builded  better  than  he  knew ;  but  that  he  was  absolutely 
dominated  by  the  thought  that  mighty  results  were  to  fotlow 
the  work  he  had  in  hand,  I  do  not  doubt. 

In  short,  Mr.  Hyde  believed  in  life  insurance.  It  was  his 
ruling  passion.  He  sought  its  extension  with  the  devotion  of 
an  ascetic  who  clings  to  his  cavern  in  the  rock.  It  was  more 
than  a  business,  vastly  more ;  it  was  a  faith,  a  cult.  In  all 
the  years  that  I  knew  him  he  was  a  man  of  one  work,  he  was 
absorbed  by  one  idea.  Thus  it  was  that  he  so  impressed  him- 
self on  the  incidental  interviewer,  and  on  the  business  com- 
munity in  which  he  mingled.  Dominated  himself  by  the 
hfe  insurance  idea,  he  speedily  brought  other  men  to  his  way 
of  thinking.  The  agent  whom  he  sought  to  enlist  in  his  ser- 
vice, but  who  questioned  the  future  of  the  Society,  had  his 
doubts  removed  by  a  five  minutes'  talk  with  Mr.  Hyde. 
Yea,  more,  for  the  agent  in  turn  became  an  enthusiast,  and 
no  longer  needed  a  showing  of  company  achievement,  for  he, 
too,  could  look  with  confidence  toward  the  future,  and  win 
success  by  pointing  to  the  glory  that  was  to  come. 

Looking  far  back  to  that  day  in  autumn,  I  can  see  now  the 
manager  as  he  talked  of  his  work ;  the  swaying  of  the  lithe 
body,  the  poise  of  head,  the  swing  of  arm, — for  he  was  all  ac- 
tion,— the  quiet  and  confident  tone.  I  remember  distinctly 
that  I  called  on  him  thinking  that  the  young  Equitable  was 
building  in  the  sand,  and  I  left  him  with  the  impression  that 
its  foundation  was  rock.  Charles  D.  Lakey. 


RESOLUTIONS 

The  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Equitable  Society,  in  reference  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Hyde, 
and  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  agents  of  the  Society, 
have  been  quoted  in  the  foregoing  sketch.  For  many  years 
Mr.  Hyde  refused  a  great  number  of  pressing  invitations  to 
become  identified  with  the  management  of  many  important 
corporations  and  business  enterprises.  His  absorbing  interest 
in  the  Equitable  prompted  him  to  this  course.  The  excep- 
tions to  this  rule  were  made  long  after  the  Equitable  had 
been  firmly  established  as  one  of  the  largest  and  strongest  of 
the  life  companies,  and  even  then  his  identification  with  most 
of  the  companies  of  which  he  became  a  director  may  be 
traced,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  fact  that  by  such  a 
connection  he  felt  that  the  best  interests  of  the  Equitable 
Society  would  be  served. 


THE    MERCANTILE   TRUST   COMPANY 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Mercantile  Trust 
Company,  held  on  Wednesday,  May  17,  1899,  the  following  resolu- 
tions, reported  from  the  Executive  Committee,  were  unanimously 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  desires  to  record  an  expression  of  its 
sorrow  at  the  irreparable  loss  caused  by  the  death  of  Henry 
Baldwin  Hyde. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  the  founder  and  for  many  years  had  been  one  of 

204 


APPENDIX  205 

the  most  highly  respected  and  valued  Directors  of  this  Company. 
His  wisdom  and  financial  sagacity  were  supplemented  by  industry 
and  indomitable  energy.  These  active  qualities  which  marked  his 
character,  and  by  which  he  was  best  known,  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  make  him  famous  in  the  world  of  business.  But  they  were 
united  with  an  integrity  and  a  wise  conservatism  which  made  him  a 
safe  as  well  as  an  eminently  efficient  adviser. 

By  Mr.  Hyde's  death  a  power  for  usefulness,  progress,  and  good 
has  been  lost,  and  the  place  which  has  been  left  vacant  is  one  that 
cannot  be  filled.     And  it  was  further 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  entered  upon  the  minutes  of 
the  Board,  and  a  copy  be  forwarded  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Ernest  R.  Adee, 

Secretary. 


THE    WESTERN   NATIONAL   BANK 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Western  National 
Bank  of  the  city  of  New  York,  held  at  the  Banking  House,  No. 
15  Nassau  Street,  on  Wednesday,  May  3,  1899,  the  President  an- 
nounced the  death  of  Henry  B.  Hyde,  a  member  of  the  Board, 
whereupon  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Hyde  the  Bank  has  lost  a  zeal- 
ous and  powerful  supporter,  and  the  members  of  the  Board  an 
intelligent,  genial,  and  honorable  associate.  That,  ftuthermore,  they 
desire  to  bear  testimony  to  their  high  appreciation  of  the  qualities 
which  not  only  made  him  a  leader  among  men  of  affairs,  but  en- 
deared him  to  the  hearts  of  those  with  whom  he  was  brought  into 
business  relations.  Possessed  of  a  mind  of  more  than  ordinary 
grasp  and  activity,  of  resistless  energy,  of  great  but  laudable  ambi- 
tion, he  had,  in  addition,  a  heart  full  of  generous  impulses  and 
always  inclined  to  kindly  action.  Although  ever  ready  to  battle  for 
a  cause  which  seemed  to  him  just,  he  cherished  no  malice,  and  died, 
as  he  declared  in  his  last  hours,  at  peace  with  all  men.  As  a  man 
of  business,  successful  in  his  sphere  beyond  all  competitors,  as  a 
public-spirited  citizen,  as  an  earnest  and  loyal   friend,  he  has  left  a 


2o6  APPENDIX 

place  which  will  not  be  filled  during  the  lives  of  his  associates,  and 
they  thus  put  on  record  their  deep  appreciation  of  his  sterling 
character.  V.  P.  Snyder, 

Presidejit. 


THE   MERCANTILE    SAFE   DEPOSIT   COMPANY 

In  recording  on  these  minutes  the  death  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Hyde, 
Vice-President  of  this  Company,  the  Trustees  desire  to  express  their 
deep  sense  of  loss ;  a  loss  not  alone  to  this  Company  and  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  but  also  to  each  one  of  them  personally. 

Mr.  Hyde  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  a  personal  magnetism 
which  drew  most  closely  to  him  all  those  who  were  associated  with 
him  in  his  business  enterprises.  A  man  of  magnificent  ideas,  with 
a  mind  quick  to  grasp  and  fully  comprehend  great  undertakings, 
clear  in  judgment,  prompt  in  action,  and  with  a  most  sympathetic 
heart,  he  was  in  every  sense  of  the  word  a  strong  man — strong  in 
mind,  strong  in  purpose,  and  strong  in  feelings.  His  great  enter- 
prises, in  their  splendid  success,  stand  as  monuments  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Hyde,  but  there  are  other  monuments,  not  so  public,  not  open 
to  the  view  of  the  world,  fully  as  high  and  much  more  lasting,  which 
have  been  raised  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  have  felt  his  influence, 
his  fair-mindedness,  and  his  kindness. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  the  founder  of  this  Institution,  was  unfailing  in  his 
interest  in  its  welfare,  and  was  ever  ready  to  help  it  by  his  advice 
and  personal  labors.  In  its  early  days,  when  the  success  of  this 
enterprise  seemed  a  problem,  Mr.  Hyde's  confidence  in  its  future 
never  faltered,  and  he  used  all  the  means  at  his  command  to  start  it 
firmly  on  its  successful  course.  No  matter  how  important  or  en- 
grossing his  other  labors  might  be,  he  was  ever  ready  to  suggest  or 
advise  in  matters  concerning  this  business,  and  the  great  success  of 
this  Institution  is,  unquestionably,  largely  if  not  entirely  due  to  his 
interest  and  advice. 

This  Board  would  also  convey  to  Mrs.  Hyde  and  her  family  an 
expression  of  its  heartfelt  sympathy  with  them  in  their  deep  sorrow. 

Lyman  Rhoades, 

President. 


APPENDIX  207 

THE    SECURITY    SAFE   DEPOSIT   COMPANY 

At  a  meeting  of  Directors  of  the  Security  Safe  Deposit  Company, 
held  this  day,  May  4,  1899,  in  Boston,  the  following  Resolutions 
were  unanimously  passed : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  with  sorrow  that  we  have  heard  of  the  death 
of  our  associate  and  Vice-President,  Henry  B.  Hyde,  the  founder 
of  this  Company,  and  the  active  promoter  of  its  interests. 

In  paying  tribute  to  his  memory,  we  testify  to  his  high  character 
as  a  man,  his  eminent  ability  in  business  affairs,  his  great  sagacity 
and  untiring  industry,  his  superb  qualities  of  leadership,  and  his 
wonderful  personality,  which  have  given  him  an  elevated  rank  among 
the  prominent  men  of  affairs  of  this  age. 

As  the  originator  of  The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  directing  spirit  of  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment, he  gave  life  insurance  throughout  this  country  and  the  world 
a  new  impetus,  which  has  raised  it  to  a  still  higher  place  among  the 
protective  institutions  of  the  century.  In  this  respect  alone,  as  a 
man  of  genius  in  the  theoretical  and  practical  application  of  the 
principles  of  life  insurance,  he  has  been  recognized  as  the  leading 
man  in  the  world  in  the  affairs  of  that  institution. 

Resolved,  That  we  express  our  sympathy  to  the  family  of  Mr. 
Hyde,  and  to  his  fellow-officials  in  The  Equitable  Life  Assurance 
Society,  and  forward  to  them  a  copy  of  these  Resolutions. 

Nathan  Warren,  E.  M.  McPherson, 

Secretary.  President. 


THE   MISSOURI    SAFE   DEPOSIT   COMPANY 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Missouri  Safe 
Deposit  Company,  convened  this  fourth  day  of  May,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  action  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Hyde,  the 
following  resolutions  were  adopted : 

Whereas,  God  in  his  inscrutable  wisdom  has  seen  fit  to  remove 
from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  activities  our  co-director  and  friepd, 
Henry  B.  Hyde ;  Therefore  be  it 


2o8  APPENDIX 

Resolved^  That  the  unerring  judgment  and  masterly  qualities  of 
mind,  which  placed  him  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  strong  men  of 
his  day  and  generation,  will  be  grievously  missed  from  the  counsels 
of  our  board ;  that  we  deeply  mourn  and  deplore  his  loss ;  And  be 
it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  the  bereaved  family  our  heartfelt 
sympathy  in  their  sorrow,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be 
sent  to  them  as  a  memorial  of  our  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  and  a  further  copy  be  spread  upon  the  minutes  of  this 
meeting. 

J.  S.  Kendrick,  D.  K.  Ferguson, 

Secretary.  President. 


At  the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Hyde  was  a  Director  in  the 
Union  Pacific  Railway  Company,  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company,  the  Westinghouse  Electric  Company,  the 
Coney  Island  and  Brooklyn  Railroad  Company,  and  the 
Brooklyn  City  and  Newtown  Railroad  Company. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Directors  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad : 

THE    UNION   PACIFIC   RAILROAD   COMPANY 

Your  Directors  regret  to  report  the  death  of  Mr.  Henry  B.  Hyde, 
a  member  of  the  Board,  which  occurred  on  May  2,  1899.  His  loss 
will  long  be  felt  in  the  corporation  and  financial  world,  in  which  he 
was  a  prominent  figure,  having  founded  and  developed  the  Equitable 
Life  Assurance  Society  of  the  United  States,  which  stands  as  a  monu- 
ment to  his  force,  character,  and  skill.  His  son,  Mr.  James  H.  Hyde 
of  New  York,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy. 


APPENDIX 


THE  WESTERN    UNION  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY 


209 


A  distinct  misfortune  befell  the  community  in  the  death  of  Mr. 
Hyde.  His  indomitable  will  and  untiring  energy  built  up  one  of 
the  largest  life  assurance  societies  of  his  time. 

Its  success  was  chiefly  attained  by  the  public  confidence  in  its 
integrity  and  stability  which  his  high  business  and  personal  qualities 
inspired,  and  he  was  the  means  by  which  the  dependents  of  a  multi- 
tude of  policy-holders  felt  the  beneficence  of  a  secure  and  liberal 
provision  against  the  calamities  of  accident  and  old  age. 

His  unsparing  devotion  to  the  achievements  of  the  high  purpose 
he  set  before  him  made  too  early  a  sacrifice  of  the  strength  that 
should  have  carried  him  to  a  riper  age  and  even  fuller  honors  than 
those  that  he  enjoyed.  The  respect  that  his  colleagues  ungrudgingly 
gave  him  and  the  admiration  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances  made 
him  an  example  to  be  copied  by  all  to  whom  the  behest  of  duty  is 
the  first  rule  of  life. 

We,  his  fellow-directors  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
add  our  tribute  to  his  high  qualities  of  mind  and  character,  and 
resolve  that  a  suitably  engrossed  copy  of  this  minute  be  sent  by  the 
officers  of  the  company  to  Mrs.  Hyde  and  her  family,  with  the  assiu:- 
ance  of  our  sincere  condolence  in  their  bereavement. 

A.  R.  Brewer,  Thomas  T.  Eckert, 

Secretary.  President. 


Appropriate  action  was  taken  by  the  Directors  of  the 
other  companies  mentioned  upon  the  announcement  of  Mr. 
Hyde's  death. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  and  letters  of  condolence  were 
received  from  a  great  number  of  the  various  State  organiza- 
tions of  Equitable  Agents,  and  from  the  General  Agents  in 
charge  of  the  Society's  foreign  branches  all  over  the  world. 

The  following  resolutions  are  from  two  of  the  independent 
associations  of  life  underwriters : 


2IO  APPENDIX 

THE    MINNESOTA   ASSOCIATION    OF    UNDERWRITERS 

Whereas,  The  Minnesota  Association  of  Life  Underwriters  of 
the  City  of  St.  Paul,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota,  having  heard  with 
regret  and  sorrow  of  the  death  in  New  York  City,  on  May  2,  1899, 
of  Henry  Baldwin  Hyde,  the  founder  and  for  many  years  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of  the  United  States ; 
and 

Whereas,  The  relations  of  Mr.  Hyde  to  the  beneficent  institution 
of  life  insurance  generally,  not  only  in  his  own  country  but  through- 
out the  world,  were  so  intimate  and  valuable  as  to  demand  some- 
thing more  than  an  ordinary  recognition  of  their  worth  on  the  occur- 
rence of  their  untimely  termination  ;  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this,  The  Minnesota  Association  of  Life  Under- 
writers of  the  City  of  St.  Paul  hereby  records  its  unanimous  expres- 
sions of  sincere  regret  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Hyde,  together  with  it& 
deep  appreciation  of  his  moral  worth  so  conspicuously  reflected 
throughout  his  entire  business  career. 

Resolved,  That  recognition  is  hereby  publicly  and  permanently 
made  of  the  influence  exerted  upon  the  institution  of  hfe  insurance 
by  the  lofty  character  of  Mr.  Hyde  as  a  man,  and  his  strict  obser- 
vance as  the  responsible  official  of  a  great  representative  organization 
of  the  highest  principles  of  business  integrity  in  the  conduct  of  its 
affairs. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Association  be  requested  to 
forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  President  of  the  Equi- 
table Life  Assurance  Society,  and  to  Mr.  James  H.  Hyde,  the  son 
of  the  deceased. 

Frank  F.  Loomis,  Franklin  T.  Parlin, 

Secretary.  President. 


THE   LIFE    UNDERWRITERS'    ASSOCIATION    OF   NEBRASKA 

At  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Life  Underwriters'  Associa- 
tion of  Nebraska,  held  at  Omaha,  Nebraska,  June  5,  1899,  the 
undersigned  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  expres- 


APPENDIX  211 

sive  of  the  great  loss  we,  as  life  underwriters,  have  sustained  in  the 
death  of  Henry  B.  Hyde,  President  of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance 
Society  of  the  United  States,  and  of  our  profound  sympathy  with 
his  family,  and  was  instructed  to  forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
to  the  family. 

A  kind  and  merciful  Father  has  called  to  his  home  a  cherished 
son ;  a  loving  Parent  has  drawn  closer  to  his  presence  an  idolized  child. 

To  you,  his  dear  ones,  the  loss  you  have  sustained  in  the  death  of 
husband  and  father  is  indeed  irreparable,  and  we,  his  humble  pro- 
fessional followers,  extend  our  heartfelt  condolence  and  sympathy. 

Let  the  knowledge  that  the  memory  of  Henry  B.  Hyde  will  live 
not  only  in  your  own  gentle  hearts,  but  in  those  of  all  who  knew 
him,  assuage  your  grief. 

This  great  and  good  man,  so  devoted  to  his  noble  calling,  who 
exercised  his  powerful  intellect,  his  indomitable  energy,  his  marked 
executive  ability,  for  the  advancement  of  his  profession,  achieved 
the  most  wonderful  success  during  his  life,  and  rendered  possible 
the  marvelous  growth  of  the  Hfe  insurance  companies  of  America ; 
and  now  that  his  eyes  and  lips  are  closed  in  death,  his  example  will 
incite  to  acts  of  emulation  the  army  of  fellow-workers  and  admirers 
who  tearfully  mourn  his  loss. 

To  you  whom  Henry  B.  Hyde  loved  so  tenderly  let  the  know- 
ledge that  "he  is  not  dead,  but  gone  before,"  bring  comfort  to  your 
aching  hearts. 

William  Henry  Brown,  President.       H.  R.  Gould. 

James  E.  Ebersol,  Secretary.  M.  E.  Rohrer. 

H.  D.  Neely,  Chairman.  John  Sylvan  Brown. 

Simon  Goetz. 


ST.  mark's  church  of  islip,  long  island 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Mark's  Church  in  Islip,  held 
Sunday,  May  7,  1899,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

Whereas,  Our  late  associate,  Henry  B.  Hyde,  has  passed  away, 
it  becomes  us  to  pay  tribute  to  his  memory. 


212  APPENDIX 

Resolved,  That  we  have  lost  a  counselor  we  cannot  replace,  and 
a  friend  who  was  ever  faithful. 

His  memory  will  remain  as  a  bright  example  and  a  stimulating 
influence  for  all  that  is  best. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  expression  of  our  sentiments  be 
transmitted  to  Mrs.  Hyde,  with  the  assurance  of  our  tender  sym- 
pathy for  her  and  her  children. 

John  H.  Vail, 

Clerk. 


HINTS   AND   MAXIMS   FROM   CIRCULARS 
TO    AGENTS 

Mr.  Hyde's  circulars  to  agents  were  in  the  highest  sense 
original,  but  he  never  hesitated  to  utilize  the  thoughts  of 
others,  or  to  accept  assistance  from  his  associates.  His  aim 
was  not  to  make  new  or  original  assertions,  but  to  impress 
the  truth  upon  his  readers.  He  iterated  and  reiterated  the 
same  thought  in  varying  language,  often  quoting  the  maxim 
of  Samuel  Johnson  that  men  need  reminding  rather  than 
instruction.  The  following  extracts  are  from  circulars  to 
agents. 

January,  1870 

Be  very  particular  about  the  class  of  risks  presented  to  the 
Society.  Much  of  our  future  success  depends  upon  the  faithfulness 
of  our  agents  in  this  respect.  Agents  should  not  be  willing  to  intro- 
duce every  applicant  who  can  be  hurried  through  the  hands  of  a 
medical  examiner.  They  should  feel  that  much  of  the  responsibility 
rests  upon  thetn  and  act  accordingly. 

February  i,  187 1 

Let  the  problem  be  to  produce  a  given  result  in  your  agency. 
Consider  all  the  present  means  of  accomplishing  it ;  go  out  of  the 
old  ruts ;  think  it  over  deeply ;  invent  new  ways ;  choose  the  best 
plan ;  develop  it  distinctly ;  weigh  every  point ;  when  approved, 
change  your  anxious  thought  to  determined  action,  and  press  through 
all  discouragement ;  and  if  your  energy  increase  in  the  same  ratio 
that  obstacles  thicken  around  you,  you  will,  as  a  rule,  accomplish 
your  purpose. 

213 


214  APPENDIX 

February  i,  1871 

It  may  be  that  you  do  not  think  enough — that  you  are  not  thor- 
oughly awake.  Some  men  go  all  through  life  half  asleep ;  others, 
until  some  tremendous  event  awakens  them  and  they  develop  their 
latent  energies:  and  then  the  world  admires  and  respects  what  is 
called  their  genius.  Let  us  give  a  name  to  this  awakening  and  de- 
veloping power.  Call  it  pressure.  Pressure  makes  those  of  us  who 
are  successful,  what  we  are.  We  all  yield  to  it  and  obey  it ;  and  we 
would  that  your  love  for  the  Equitable,  your  recollections  of  the 
glorious  victories  won  under  its  banner,  and  yovu-  responsibility  as 
co-workers  in  its  service  and  supporters  of  its  reputation  in  the  future, 
should  so  press  upon  you  that  every  latent  power  of  body  and  mind 
should  be  aroused  and  perfectly  developed  in  the  discharge  of  the 
trust  committed  to  your  care. 

December  i,  1871 

Work  regularly,  and  devote  a  specific  time  to  your  work.  The 
desultory  man,  who  mixes  his  business  up  with  all  his  other  avoca- 
tions, may  do  business ;  the  agent  who  devotes  all  his  time  to  the 
07ie  thing,  "  this  one  thing  I  do,"  and  turns  neither  to  the  right  hand 
nor  the  left,  but  works  regularly  and  indefatigably,  must  do  it. 

October  i,  1872 

Watch  your  record,  and  the  moment  your  business  begins  to 
droop,  make  use  of  all  proper  expedients  to  arrest  the  decline.  Do 
not  suffer  it  to  get  so  low  as  to  be  almost  beyond  control  before 
beginning  the  effort  to  force  it  up. 

October  i,  1872 

It  is  a  most  important  secret  of  our  business  never  to  let  one 
month  run  behind  its  predecessor ;  and  it  will  be  found  that  money, 
time,  and  influence  expended  at  the  moment  when  business  begins 
to  flag  will  save  far  heavier  expenditures  which  would  be  found 
necessary  to  bring  it  up  if  too  long  neglected.  You  will  find  it  easy 
in  this  way  to  effect  a  constant  increase  in  the  volume  of  new 
business. 


APPENDIX  215 

March  7,  1874 

Let  US  hear  from  each  and  every  one  of  you,  and  know  that  the 
old  invincible  spirit  prevails. 

December  15,  1875 

A  man  who  walks  against  time  accomplishes  more  than  one  who 
starts  out  for  a  morning  stroll.  He  turns  neither  to  the  right  nor  to 
the  left ;  takes  not  only  a  longer  but  a  quicker  step ;  and,  if  he  loses 
a  little  at  one  point,  strains  every  nerve  to  make  it  up  farther  on. 

January  i,    1880 

A  man  to  succeed  in  any  given  work  must  have  tact,  combined 
with  that  energy  that  "  knows  no  such  word  as  fail  "  ;  but  in  addition 
to  this,  he  must  conduct  his  business  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  the 
most  ample  opportunity  for  the  full  display  of  his  powers ;  and  in 
order  to  meet  with  a  great  success  must  utilize  every  influence  within 
his  reach,  and  make  it  work  with  him  to  consummate  the  desired 
object.  A  man  accomphshes  most  by  his  own  individual  work,  but 
if  he  can  control  the  labor  of  others,  he  may  materially  supplement 
his  individual  work. 

Compass  all  the  obstacles,  discouragements,  and  failures  that  you 
meet  with.  Make  up  your  mind  whether  or  not  you  are  willing  to 
put  the  intelligence  and  energy  into  the  work  that  will  cause  you  to 
rise  superior  to  all  hindrances.  If  the  odds  seem  overwhelming,  it 
is  better  to  give  it  up  before  you  begin  and  take  some  other  kind  of 
business  more  suited  to  your  faint-hearted  piu-poses ;  but  if,  with  your 
experience  of  the  past  and  the  recollection  of  the  failm^es  you  have 
made  in  individual  cases,  you  believe  that  you  can  do  your  work 
more  skilfully  in  the  future,  and  while  marking  out  even  a  bolder 
course,  avoid  many  of  the  disasters  of  the  past, — if  you  have  real 
pluck  in  you, — you  are  the  man  we  want  to  do  business  with,  and  to 
whom  we  desire  to  say  a  few  words  touching  the  prosecution  of  your 
work. 

So  great  has  competition  become,  and  so  vigorously  has  the  busi- 
ness of  life  assurance  been  pushed  in  all  quarters,  that  in  order  to 
succeed  you  must  rise  earlier,  sit  up  later,  and  work  harder  and  more 
skilfully  than  those  around  you. 


2i6  APPENDIX 

The  older  life  assurance  agents  throughout  the  country,  who  are 
familiar  with  this  Society's  history,  know  that  its  success  is  largely 
owing  to  its  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  services  of  the  hfe  assur- 
ance agent.  It  has  done  more  to  define  and  protect  the  rights  of  life 
assurance  agents  than  all  the  other  companies  in  the  country  com- 
bined. We  beheve  the  Society  is  universally  popular  among  life 
assurance  agents,  and  that  to-day  it  has  in  its  service  the  best  men 
engaged  in  this  business. 

May  I,  1880 

Our  corps  of  agents  is  such  as  no  other  company  can  boast  of.  It 
is  a  source  of  envy  to  our  competitors  and  of  pride  to  us. 

We  want  you  to  partake  of  the  same  spirit  that  inspires  the  man- 
agement in  their  labors  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  Society,  and 
maintain  its  ^position  at  the  head  of  American  life  assurance  com- 
panies as  the  strongest  and  most  popular  of  all.  We  must  not  rest 
on  past  or  present  successes,  for  he  who  does  will  lose  momentum 
and  fall  behind. 

June  2,  1880 

In  order  to  ascertain  if  the  business  of  life  assurance  is  worth  the 
exertion,  find  out  the  result  by  computation  of  the  value  in  capital 
of  the  annual  income  from  your  renewal  commissions.  Calculate 
how  much  money  invested  in  good  securities  would  produce  an 
equal  revenue.  Estimate  this  on  an  amount  of  business  that  can  be 
done  by  the  proper  cultivation  of  your  territory,  and  you  will  find 
that  the  results  are  such  as  to  justify  the  efforts  which  we  call  upon 
you  to  put  forth. 

August  30,  1880 

Agents  who  have  been  connected  with  the  Society  for  a  long 
time,  and  are  familiar  with  the  history  of  life  assurance  during  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  know  that  the  Equitable  was  the  first 
company  which  gave  to  the  agents  their  rights  in  black  and  white, 
and  which  gave  them  a  fair  written  contract,  so  that  their  rights 
could  not  be  ignored.  The  Equitable  is  the  company  which  has 
given  the  agent  his  proper  place,  and  has  given  him  the  credit 
which  belongs  to  him  of  right  as  the  most  important  factor  in  the 
building  up  of  a  life  assurance  company. 


APPENDIX  217 

As  a  result  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  Equitable,  our  agents 
have  felt  very  closely  identified  with  every  interest  of  the  company ; 
they  have  shared  the  same  anxieties  and  pleasures  experienced  by 
the  officers,  and  with  them  have  contributed  to  the  growth  of  the 
Society  and  watched  its  unequaled  progress,  year  by  year. 

It  is  this  vital  personal  interest  in  the  Equitable,  on  the  part  of  its 
agents  and  officers,  which  has  made  the  company  what  it  is  to-day. 

The  power  of  money  is  great,  but  it  cannot  go  into  the  market  and 
buy  or  control  the  forces  which  contribute  to  such  a  success  as  has 
been  achieved  by  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society ;  and  if  in 
the  future  the  agents  and  officers  of  the  company  lose  this  living, 
personal  interest,  and  fail  to  be  animated  by  the  example  of  those 
who  have  occupied  the  field  before  them,  from  that  time  the  tide 
will  turn,  and  the  decadence  of  the  company  will  begin.  Let  us, 
then,  be  true  to  ourselves,  and  keep  our  reputation  untarnished  as 
faithful  guardians  of  the  company's  interests  during  our  time. 

December  31,  1881 

The  work  for  the  coming  year  is  before  you.  Anything  that  is 
worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well.  Make  up  your  mind,  with 
all  the  lights  you  have,  as  to  the  ways  and  means  that  you  should 
employ  to  push  your  business.  Having  decided,  use  the  greatest 
system  in  conducting  your  agency.  Order,  regularity,  and  system 
are  indispensable.  Some  men  give  up  just  at  the  time  that  success 
is  waiting  for  them.  But  if,  at  the  time  at  which  nine  men  out  of 
ten  are  ready  to  become  utterly  discouraged,  you  take  hold  with  re- 
doubled energy,  you  will  overcome  all  obstacles ;  in  the  majority  of 
cases  you  will  succeed  in  accomplishing  your  purpose,  if  it  is  a  wise 
one  and  has  been  carefully  thought  out, 

December  15,  1883 

The  lesson  to  be  learned  from  our  experience  is  that  it  does  not 
pay  to  lag  behind  and  come  in  last. 

But  it  does  pay  to  be  connected  with  the  company  that  has  the 
best  corps  of  intelligent,  hard-working,  positive,  result-producing 
agents  in  the  world. 

It  does  pay  to  be  connected  with  a  company  where  the  officers 


2i8  APPENDIX 

are  exhausting  every  energy,  straining  every  nerve,  to  make  crooked 
ways  straight  and  rough  places  smooth ;  where  some  of  the  officers 
have  been  experienced  hfe  assurance  agents,  and  try  to  do  all  in 
their  power  to  comfort  the  agents  in  their  troubles. 

Some  agents  of  other  companies  know  what  it  is,  when  pressing 
the  enemy  hard  in  the  prosecution  of  their  work,  to  have  not  only  a 
fire  in  the  front,  which  they  expect  and  can  take  care  of,  but  a  con- 
stant fire  in  the  rear,  which  they  do  not  expect  and  cannot  take  care 
of,  and  ought  not  to  have,  and  which  they  would  not  have  if  the 
officers  of  the  company  they  represent  knew  their  interest  and  were 
wiUing  to  work  for  it. 

January  28,  1885 

The  successful  life  assurance  agent  takes  great  pride  in  his  work ; 
lays  his  plans  adroitly,  and  secures  for  service  in  his  company  the 
best  men  in  his  community.  He  is  untiring ;  is  wilHng  to  do  and 
dare  anything  in  the  interest  of  his  company ;  and  his  whole  heart 
and  soul  are  devoted  to  his  business  with  an  enthusiasm  which 
knows  no  bounds. 

"  There  is  no  business  in  which  a  man  can  engage,  without  capi- 
tal, that  will  yield  the  pecuniary  return  which  may  be  seciured  through 
a  life  assm-ance  agency,  managed  with  tact  and  energy." 

This  is  not  the  day  of  small  things,  but  of  great  ones.  We  must 
set  our  standards  high,  giving  to  our  tasks  the  necessary  amount  of 
labor  and  skill. 

November  28,  1885 

Words  cannot  express  to  you  how  deeply  I  feel  the  importance  of 
improving  the  present  opportunity.  I  recall  to  you  the  similar  argu- 
ments I  have  used  in  the  past,  and  appeal  to  your  honest  convictions 
as  to  whether  our  arduous  toil,  extraordinar}^  and  unremitting  at  times, 
has  not  met  with  its  reward  in  the  present  position  of  the  Society, 
its  superiority  over  all  other  similar  institutions  in  the  world.  As  a 
body  you  have  never  failed  me  in  times  past,  but  have  always  come 
to  the  front  at  the  critical  moment.  Many  of  my  early  associates  in 
this  work — good  men  and  true — have  passed  away.  The  marvelous 
record  of  progress  made  in  recent  years,  which  was  never  before 
equaled  by  this  company  or  any  other,  is  your  work.    With  hardly  any 


APPENDIX 


219 


exceptions,  your  future  is  identified  with  the  Society  as  much  as  my 
own.  It  is  my  duty,  in  directing  the  movements  of  the  Equitable,  to 
endeavor  to  pursue  such  a  course  as  will  be  of  the  greatest  advantage 
to  the  Society,  and  necessarily  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  YOU. 

January  18,  1886 

The  most  briUiant  achievements  which  have  been  wrought  by- 
man,  and  which  have  elicited  the  admiration  of  the  world,  have  not 
been  the  results  of  dreamy,  indolent  genius,  but  the  outcome  of  con- 
scientious, unremitting  toil — restless  activity  of  mind,  which  is  not 
satisfied  until  the  best  ways  and  means  are  ascertained  for  the  ac- 
comphshment  of  the  desired  end  ;  and  then  the  resistless  force  which 
carries  them  into  successful  execution. 

First,  organize  your  work.  No  matter  whether  your  territory  ex- 
tends over  several  States,  or  several  counties,  or  if  it  is  confined  to  a 
single  city  or  some  country  town ;  organize  your  work  and  make  up 
your  mind  whether  or  not  you  will  endeavor  to  accomphsh  the  task 
which  is  before  you,  and  whether  you  will,  by  every  means  in  your 
power,  not  only  endeavor  to  succeed,  BUT  SUCCEED. 

In  speaking  to  the  best  corps  of  agents  in  the  world,  I  do  not  feel 
competent  to  advise  you  in  every  case  how  to  work ;  your  own 
experience  is  the  best  guide :  but  it  is  safe  to  charge  you  to  think 
before  you  act — take  time  to  make  up  your  mind  as  to  the  best 
means  to  be  used  to  accomplish  the  desired  result.  It  is  worth  the 
most  serious  reflection  ;  don't  make  any  mistake  about  this.  The 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  is  an  important  one.  Time  will  not 
be  wasted  which  is  given  to  it.  Make  your  foundations  solid,  and 
then  there  will  be  no  fear  for  the  superstructure  if  you  are  skilful 
and  industrious. 

January,  1887 

Remember  that  to  pause  now  and  rest  upon  our  laurels  would 
mean  simply  that  we  are  willing,  after  reaching  the  foremost  place, 
to  see  our  rivals  come  up  with  and  ultimately  pass  us.  To  stand 
still  would  be  in  effect  to  go  back ;  and  it  is  contrary  to  the  genius 
of  the  Society  to  take  a  backward  step. 

Are  you,  the  field  officers  of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society, 


220  APPENDIX 

willing  at  this  time  to  rest  upon  your  laurels — that  is  to  say,  to  have 
your  laurels  plucked  off  by  your  enemies? 

February  i6,  1887 

To  look  back  to  the  commencement  of  the  Society  in  1859,  which 
was  indeed  a  day  of  small  things,  and  to  recollect  the  difficulties  and 
trials  that  have  been  successfully  encountered  and  overcome  by  the 
officers  and  agents  of  this  Society,  cannot  but  give  me  confidence  in 
the  ability  of  the  officers  and  agents  to  secure  even  greater  victories 
in  the  future.  We  are  doubly  qualified  by  our  experience  at  the 
home  office  to  give  the  agents  every  possible  assistance  in  their 
work.  Union  is  strength.  Let  us  show  to  the  world  that  we  are 
refreshed  and  strengthened  by  our  success,  and  can  with  new  and 
increasing  ardor  take  hold  of  the  great  work  before  us. 

January,  1889 

At  times,  insurmountable  obstacles  may  seem  to  block  your  path ; 
other  companies  may  seek  to  hedge  your  way  by  their  unwise  action  : 
but  it  is  my  experience  that  such  things  are  only  temporary.  The 
officer  of  any  life  assurance  company,  when  brought  to  book  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  and  obhged  to  consider  the  outgo  and  income,  sur- 
plus and  liabilities,  and  to  prepare  the  company's  statement  for  pub- 
lication, is  pretty  sure  to  realize  a  sense  of  the  responsibiHty  of  the 
work  in  which  he  is  engaged,  and  is  not  hkely  to  persevere  for  any 
length  of  time  in  a  course  which  is  siure  to  bring  ruin  and  de- 
struction upon  his  company.  His  inexperience  may  change  to  bitter 
experience,  if  the  conduct  of  his  company  is  not  marked  by  economy 
and  common  sense.     "  Even  a  fool  has  his  serious  moments." 

January,  1889 

If  the  question  is  asked :  What  forces  have  raised  the  Equitable 
to  its  position  as  the  leading  life  assurance  company  of  the  world? 
the  answer  is  :  That  it  furnishes  a  plain,  simple  contract  of  assurance, 
containing  valuable  advantages  not  to  be  found  in  the  contracts  of 
any  other  company ;  that  its  dealings  with  its  patrons  are  liberal  and 
just ;  that  it  does  not  seek  for  gains  to  be  made  by  harsh  technicali- 
ties ;   and  that  its  management  is  wise  and  conservative,  as  is  shown 


APPENDIX  221 

by  the  fact  that  it  now  holds  a  surplus  larger  than  the  surplus  of  any 
other  life  assurance  company  in  this  country  or  in  Europe. 

September  25,  1889 

Thirty  years  ago  (in  September,  1859)  we  had  upwards  of  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars  of  assurance  in  force ;  to-day  we  have 
upwards  of  six  hundred  millions. 

Thirty  years  ago  we  had  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars of  assets ;  to-day  we  hold  upwards  of  one  hundred  millions. 

Then  we  had  little  or  no  surplus ;  now  we  have  between  twenty 
and  twenty-five  milhons. 

Then  not  one  of  our  policies  had  matured,  and  not  a  single  death 
claim  had  been  paid ;  now  we  can  point  to  many  thousands  of 
beneficiaries  who  have  been  relieved  from  want,  or  who  have  already 
realized  liberal  profits  on  substantial  investments. 

Then  indisputable  assurance  was  unthought  of;  now  there  are 
thousands  who,  recognizing  the  superiority  of  such  assurance,  have, 
first,  by  their  example,  and  second,  in  the  results  of  their  policies, 
testified  to  its  worth. 

November  25,    1889 

The  Equitable  has  succeeded,  not  because  it  has  been  so  guarded 
and  restricted  from  without  that  it  has  been  forced  to  deal  fairly 
with  its  patrons,  but  because  under  a  united  and  continuous  man- 
agement it  has  sought  to  give  its  policy-holders  the  best  assurance 
possible.     It  has  consequently  sought : 

First,  To  give  the  utmost  security ;   and 

Second,  To  confer  the  largest  benefits ;   and 

Third,  To  sweep  aside  every  cumbersome  restriction. 

It  is  therefore  known  as  the  originator  of  every  important  improve- 
ment in  the  business,  and  is  preeminently  noted  for  having  invented 
the  only  system  of  assurance  under  which  a  full  share  of  surplus  is 
given  to  retiring  living  members. 

December  25,    1889 

It  has  been  our  aim  in  the  past  to  offer  to  the  public  assurance 
based  upon  correct  business  and  mathematical  principles,  and  to 
have  it  free   of  any  tricks,  evasions,  or  equivocations ;   and  we  are 


222  APPENDIX 

determined  not  to  be  diverted  from  this  by  any  thoughtless  or 
seemingly  unscrupulous  competitors. 

As  I  have  said  to  you  at  times  in  the  past,  so  long  as  envy  loves 
a  shining  mark  will  the  Equitable  be  the  target  for  the  arrows  of  its 
rivals  and  enemies. 

The  work  of  the  coming  year  is  before  you.  If  you  have  the 
grit  and  the  backbone  to  overcome  and  rise  superior  to  all  the 
obstacles  that  obstruct  your  pathway ;  the  tact  and  good  sense  to 
make  the  most  of  all  the  facilities  in  your  hands ;  the  system  and 
ability  to  put  every  part  of  your  field  in  the  most  perfect  order ;  the 
power  to  work  when  other  men  give  up,  until  you  get  that  "  second 
wind  "  and  feel  that  "  second  strength  "  which  knows  no  fatigue :  if 
you  have  these  qualities,  which  I  know  so  many  of  you  possess  in 
an  eminent  degree,  coupled  with  the  determination  to  outdo  all  your 
previous  efforts,  you  will  be  able  to  write  your  part,  and  more  than 
your  part,  of  new  business  for  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society 
of  the  United  States  in  the  year  1890. 

December  25,  1889 

Truth  as  expressed  in  correct  business  principles  is  a  fixed  quan- 
tity, eternal  in  its  character,  and  not  susceptible  to  change.  Those 
institutions  which  for  ephemeral  advantage  depart  from  such  prin- 
ciples are  sure  to  pay  the  penalty  in  the  end.  Illustrations  of  this 
fact  are  to  be  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  history  of  life  assurance 
companies  during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  We  shall  always  do 
everything  in  our  power  consistent  with  sound  legitimate  methods 
to  forward  your  interests. 

Ill-judged  devices  and  reckless  expenditure  to  obtain  business 
must  of  necessity  result  in  permanent  injury,  even  if  they  seem  to 
yield  some  temporary  advantage.  So  far  as  this  Society  is  concerned, 
it  will  continue  to  pursue  a  conservative  and  prudent  but  vigorous 
poHcy  in  the  prosecution  of  its  business ;  and  it  will  depend,  as  it 
can  safely  do,  upon  the  intelligence,  skill,  and  energetic  action  of  its 
representatives  in  the  field  for  maintaining  in  future  the  leading 
position  which  it  now  holds  and  has  held  for  so  many  years  in  con- 
sequence of  its  refusal  to  be  drawn  by  competition  into  unwise 
courses. 


APPENDIX  223 

October  i,  1890 

In  extending  the  beneficent  influence  of  life  assurance  the  mana- 
gers and  agents  of  this  Society  have  been  more  efficient  and  suc- 
cessful than  the  representatives  of  any  other  company ;  but  this  is 
far  from  being  all  the  good  in  this  direction  accomplished  by  the 
Equitable ;  for  the  influence  of  its  example,  and  the  success  attained 
through  the  reforms  introduced  by  it  into  the  practice  of  life  assur- 
ance, have  stimulated  other  companies,  and  imitation  of  the  plans 
and  methods  of  the  Equitable  has  been  found  by  them  to  be  an 
essential  condition  to  success.  Thus  to  the  results  achieved  by  the 
Equitable  directly  is  to  be  added  the  influence  which  it  has  exerted 
indirectly  upon  life  assurance  at  home  and  abroad. 

December  i,  1890 

These  results  have  been  accomplished  in  the  face  of  an  unpar- 
alleled competition,  without  transcending  the  bounds  of  rigid  con- 
servatism in  all  the  departments  of  our  business — a  conservatism 
which  has  always  characterized  the  management  of  this  Society. 
Nevertheless,  we  have  met  and  successfully  overcome  competitors 
who  have  resorted  to  methods  that  would  not  be  countenanced  by 
any  prudent  business  man  in  the  management  of  his  own  affairs. 

January  i,  1891 

No  company  or  body  of  agents  can  long  pursue  practices  that 
are  frowned  upon  by  honest  public  opinion.  This  is  sometimes 
learned  to  the  cost  of  those  who  aim  to  strike  below  the  belt. 

A  good  beginning  is  half  the  battle.  It  will  carry  you  right 
along  through  the  year.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  should  relax 
your  efforts,  and  the  results  of  January  should  be  meager,  it  will  be 
very  difficult  for  you  to  recover  the  lost  ground.  Let  there  be  no 
relaxation,  therefore.  Make  the  results  of  January  exceed  those  of 
December.  The  good  effects  of  such  a  beginning  will  be  felt 
throughout  the  year. 

December  30,  1892 

While  the  reforms  which  have  been  introduced  by  the  Equitable 
may  have  a  tendency  to  reduce  the  amount  of  its  annual  business, 


224  APPENDIX 

we  believe  the  business  written  will  have  better  staying  power,  and 
that  a  larger  proportion  of  it  will  be  renewed  and  paid  to  the  end. 

December  30,  1892 

The  management  of  the  Equitable  pledges  itself  to  endeavor  to 
avoid  the  evil  and  injurious  practices  in  the  conduct  of  the  business 
which  have  prevailed  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  among  many  of  the 
companies  during  past  years,  and  which,  we  think,  have  been  to 
the  detriment  both  of  the  companies  and  their  managers  throughout 
the  country. 

The  great  Dr.  Johnson  once  said  that  mankind  did  not  so  much 
need  to  be  instructed  as  to  be  reminded  of  what  they  already  know. 
I  want  to  repeat  to  the  managers  of  the  Equitable  a  number  of 
things  which  they  know  as  well  as  I  do,  but  which  it  is  for  their 
good  to  remember. 

After  a  brief  experience  in  this  business,  an  intelligent  manager 
will  ascertain  that  his  interests  are  promoted  by  spending  his  ener- 
gies in  pursuit  of  the  business  that  will  stick,  even  if  it  is  harder  to 
get,  and  even  if  he  does  not  at  the  moment  appear  to  be  making 
as  rapid  progress. 

I  want  to  impress  one  fact  upon  you — namely,  that  there  is  no 
antagonistic  interest  in  this  business.  It  is  to  your  benefit  that  we 
should  so  conduct  it  that  the  policy-holders  will  be  more  than  satis- 
fied with  the  management  of  the  Society. 

We  propose  to  place  the  Equitable  in  such  a  position  as  to  make 
it  increasingly  easy  for  its  agents  to  secure  the  best  class  of  business, 
and  thus  make  the  Society  more  than  ever  the  most  profitable  to 
represent.  At  the  same  time,  we  wish  to  have  none  but  straightfor- 
ward, honorable  men,  who  secure  business  by  satisfactory  methods. 
We  do  not  wish  the  business  of  rehable  agents  to  be  hindered  by 
the  wrong  methods  of  others. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  remind  you  that  the  best — indeed,  the  only 
way  to  make  a  good  showing  for  yourselves  and  the  Society  during 
the  coming  year  is  to  begin  at  the  very  beginning  and  keep  up 
unremitting  and  energetic  efforts  until  the  end  of  the  year ;  to  make 
every  day  count,  and  never  to  permit  yourselves  to  rely  upon  the 
delusive  hope  that  another  month  may  restore  what  the  preceding 


APPENDIX 


225 


one  has  lost.  Begin  the  new  year  aright;  pass  new  resolutions  in 
the  line  of  these  suggestions,  and  keep  them.  In  this  manner  you 
will  mark  the  year  1893  as  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the  Society's 
history. 

1893 

The  directors  of  the  Society  deem  the  quality  of  its  risks  and  the 
economy  of  its  management  of  far  greater  importance  than  the  vol- 
ume of  business  transacted. 

The  fact  that  the  Equitable  secures  its  enormous  business  at  less 
cost  than  its  principal  competitors  most  significantly  illustrates  the 
public  appreciation  of  its  merit. 

March  10,  1893 

There  are  only  two  ways  for  a  life  assurance  company  to  write  a 
big  business :  One  is  by  the  excessive  use  of  money,  which  before 
long  would  so  increase  the  expense  that  it  would  necessitate  a 
reduction  and  in  the  end  an  abolition  of  dividends ;  and  the  other 
is  by  using  the  greatest  possible  economy,  both  in  the  home  office 
and  throughout  all  the  agencies,  so  as  to  produce  such  an  increase 
of  surplus  (which  is  the  dividend-paying  power)  over  all  other  com- 
panies that  the  agent  in  the  field  will  be  enabled  the  more  easily  to 
effect  assm-ance  through  the  intrinsic  excellence  of  the  company. 

We  prefer  the  latter  way,  and  believe  that  by  following  it  consis- 
tently we  shall  further  alike  the  interests  of  the  Society  and  its  agents. 

Those  of  you  who  have  been  with  the  Society  a  long  time  must 
appreciate  the  feeling  I  have  of  the  magnitude  and  importance  of 
the  work  which  has  been  accomplished.  You  have  the  facts.  I 
don't  know  what  more  you  can  need  to  enable  you  to  take  the  lead- 
ing position  in  your  business  in  your  own  field. 

March  8,  1894 

We  point  with  satisfaction  to  the  record  which  has  been  made  in 
the  economical  management  of  the  Society,  and  challenge  any  com- 
pany doing  an  approximate  amount  of  new  business  to  equal  it. 
We  are  very  sure  that  our  managers  and  agents,  as  well  as  the  great 
body  of  our  policy-holders,  will  indorse  and  applaud  the  conserva- 


226  APPENDIX 

tive  course  pursued  by  the  Equitable  in  1893  and  during  previous 
years,  resulting  in  the  possession  by  the  Equitable  of  a  surplus  so 
much  larger  than  that  of  any  other  hfe  assurance  company. 

So  far  as  the  public  is  concerned,  one  lesson  which  this  teaches 
is  that  a  policy  in  such  a  company  as  the  Equitable  is  one  of  the 
very  few  securities  which  can  pass  through  a  severe  panic  without 
endangering  its  value.  Never  before  has  the  strength  of  the  insti- 
tution of  life  assurance  been  exhibited  in  such  bold  relief.  The 
financial  depression  which  marked  the  progress  of  the  year  afforded 
to  business  men  conducting  great  enterprises  material  and  opportu- 
nity for  serious  and  intelligent  reflection,  enabling  them  to  make 
comparative  estimates  of  the  safety,  stabiHty,  value,  and  results  of 
different  classes  of  investments,  and  to  appreciate  the  more  perma- 
nent and  enduring  investment  in  life  assurance.  In  many  instances, 
the  stability  of  the  former  has  been  threatened,  while  in  some  cases 
there  have  been  absolute  collapses,  resulting  in  wide-spread  despair 
and  suffering ;  the  latter  has  stood  firm  in  every  emergency,  bringing 
relief  in  numerous  instances  to  imperiled  business  and  anxious  in- 
vestors. The  test  was  certainly  a  crucial  one,  and  will  turn  the 
attention  of  thoughtful  persons  to  the  benefits  of  life  assurance  more 
than  ever  before. 

Another  lesson  that  has  been  learned  is  that  the  confidence  which 
men  have  felt  heretofore  in  their  ability  to  earn  and  safely  accumu- 
late money,  in  spite  of  the  changing  conditions  which  attend  all 
enterprises,  has  been  rudely  shaken  by  the  commercial  disasters  of 
last  year.  Consequently,  many  men  have  begun  to  doubt  their 
ability  to  take  care  of  their  dependents  from  the  accumulation  of 
their  yearly  savings,  especially  when  the  uncertainty  of  life  is  taken 
into  consideration.  This  has  led  them  to  look  more  favorably  than 
ever  before  on  the  assistance  afforded  by  life  assurance  to  secure  the 
desired  result. 

The  public  is  also  becoming  better  educated  as  to  the  merits  of 
different  companies.  Intelligent  business  men  are  rising  above  the 
idea  that  one  company  is  just  as  good  as  another.  I  am  convinced 
that  the  necessity  which  all  commercial  men  have  been  under  dur- 
ing the  past  twelve  months  of  critically  examining  every  class  of 
security  in  which  they  have  had  any  interest  has  led  them  to  scru- 
tinize more  carefully  the  different  companies  before  applying  for 


APPENDIX 


227 


policies.  They  have  learned,  consequently,  that  the  Equitable,  with 
its  assets  solidly  invested,  and  with  so  large  a  surplus,  is  the  com- 
pany to  be  preferred  above  all  companies  whose  assets  are  less  sol- 
idly invested  and  whose  surplus  is  smaller. 

Again,  the  crisis  we  have  just  passed  through  has  called  the  atten- 
tion of  wealthy  men  particularly  to  the  value  of  life  assm-ance  in 
setthng  up  their  estates.  When  the  market  value  of  securities  is 
highest,  when  everything  is  easily  sold,  and  lenders  are  anxious  to 
keep  money  out  instead  of  calling  it  in,  when  business  is  booming 
and  enterprises  are  easily  floated,  men  become  intoxicated  with  suc- 
cess. At  such  times  they  do  nOt  think  of  obstacles,  and  are  not 
easily  persuaded  of  the  expediency  of  having  life  assurance  to  pro- 
tect their  estates  in  case  of  death.  But  they  have  been  taught  dur- 
ing the  past  year  that  times  come  when  money  cannot  be  borrowed ; 
when  even  the  best  securities  cannot  be  sold  except  at  a  tremendous 
sacrifice ;  when  estates  cannot  be  settled  up  to  advantage.  Then 
their  thoughts  turn  readily  to  life  assurance,  and  they  recognize  the 
fact  that  perhaps  the  only  asset  they  can  rely  upon  absolutely  for  the 
settlement  of  their  estates,  in  the  event  of  their  untimely  death,  is  life 
assurance.  Then  they  see  clearly  that  the  only  investment  which 
they  can  make  which  will  become  more  valuable  as  the  stringency 
increases  in  severity,  and  the  only  asset  they  can  possess  which 
will  appreciate  instead  of  depreciating  at  their  death,  is  life 
assurance. 

March  8,  1894 

It  is  my  opinion  that  the  body  of  agents  of  the  Equitable  Life 
Assiurance  Society  of  the  United  States  is  not  excelled  in  character 
and  caliber  by  any  other  body  of  business  men  in  the  world,  and  the 
Society  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  class  of  representatives 
it  has.  Some  of  us  recall  a  time  when  the  life  assurance  agent  was 
not  held  in  the  esteem  which  he  enjoys  in  these  latter  days.  To- 
day he  is  regarded  as  the  peer  of  any  man  in  any  business,  and  he 
has  scattered  the  beneficent  influences  of  life  assurance  so  widely 
that  his  vocation  is  recognized  as  being  in  the  first  rank  of  honora- 
ble professions.  The  financial  crisis  enabled  many  of  our  mana- 
gers to  illustrate  to  good  men  that  many  branches  of  business  are 
uncertain,  and  to  show  them  the  advantages  of  life  assurance  as  a 


228  APPENDIX 

profession.  I  count  on  a  greater  future  for  life  assurance  because 
of  the  high  class  of  men  now  engaged  in  the  business,  and  I  can 
promise  you  that  the  Equitable  will  continually  take  the  lead  in 
weeding  out  those  who  by  their  acts  bring  reproach  upon  their  pro- 
fession. I  am  convinced  that  the  betterment  of  the  business  de- 
pends primarily  on  the  employment  of  such  men  only  as  will  not 
countenance  dishonorable  conduct;  and  if  such  men  only  are  em- 
ployed, other  questions  will  take  care  of  themselves,  for  such  repre- 
sentatives will  not  require  the  restraint  of  prohibitory  regulations. 

December  i,  1894 

Those  managers  and  agents  who  literally  comply  with  my  orders, 
and  send  in  their  final  accounts  early  in  January,  will  stand  high 
on  the  Equitable  roll  of  honor,  and  have  my  warm  friendship  and 
thanks. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  t  shall  divide  the  good  from  the  bad, 
and  be  governed  in  my  future  dealings  with  them  by  the  records 
they  have  made  in  closing  their  accounts  for  the  year. 

August  3,  1896 

In  these  hard  times,  when  everybody  is  trying  to  get  full  value 
for  every  dollar  he  spends,  you  have,  in  canvassing  for  the  Equitable, 
a  great  advantage  over  all  other  companies,  from  the  fact  that  the 
Society  has  been  managed  with  greater  economy  and  skill.  This  is 
clearly  shown  by  our  having  been  able  to  lay  up  the  largest  surplus. 

August  3, 1896 

If  you  were  handicapped  by  working  for  a  poor  company  that  had 
no  record  behind  it,  a  great  deal  of  your  energy  and  vim  would  be 
wasted.  But,  as  it  is,  you  represent  the  most  successful  life  assur- 
ance company  in  the  world,  and,  consequently,  have  every  advantage 
in  your  favor.     I  want  you  to  appreciate  this. 

October  2,  1896 

It  is  astonishing  how  much  more  a  man  can  do  if  he  has  in  his 
mind  a  definite  object  that  he  is  striving  to  accomplish,  than  if  his 


APPENDIX  229 

efforts  lack  purpose  and  concentration.  In  other  words,  if  an  agent 
makes  up  his  mind  to  write  $100,000  of  new  assurance  in  a  month, 
he  is  certainly  likely  to  write  a  larger  amount  than  if  he  starts  out 
with  no  definite  aim,  or  if  he  is  striving  to  write  but  one  half  that 
amount.  It  is  an  old  saying  that  "  Your  arrow  will  fly  higher  if  you 
aim  at  the  sun  than  if  you  aim  on  a  level  with  your  eye." 

October  2,  1896 

The  agents  of  the  Society  have  great  advantages,  inherited  from 
the  agents  who,  thirty  years  ago,  responded  so  well  to  the  appeals 
then  made  to  them.  If  they  had  lacked  courage  and  enthusiasm, 
if  they  had  deemed  the  odds  too  heavy  against  them  and  had  given 
up  the  race,  or  drifted  with  the  tide,  or  had  been  content  barely  to 
maintain  the  relative  position  which  had  then  been  attained,  the 
great  advantages  you  have  to-day  in  the  prosecution  of  your  work 
would  be  lacking.  We  look  to  you  at  the  present  day  to  carry  for- 
ward the  work  with  the  same  spirit  and  determination  which  ani- 
mated those  who  represented  the  Society  many  years  ago. 

November  4,  1896 

If  we  are  alert  to  take  hold  of  our  work  in  earnest,  to  study  all 
the  questions  appertaining  to  it,  and  to  push  it  forward  with  energy 
and  determination,  we  can  make  up  for  all  the  losses  which  we  have 
experienced.     The  tide  will  turn,  and  success  will  attend  our  efforts. 

"  There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune ; 
Omitted,  all  the  voyage  of  their  life 
Is  bound  in  shallows  and  in  miseries." 

It  is  of  no  use  now  to  think  of  the  hard  work  that  was  unsuccess- 
ful, the  business  that  has  fallen  off,  and  the  loss  of  money  that  has 
come  to  almost  every  life  assurance  manager,  as  well  as  to  every 
branch  of  commerce  throughout  tllb  world.  Let  us  turn  the  page 
on  which  are  recorded  our  troubles,  and  seal  it ;  let  us  open  a  new 
account  with  a  clean  page,  on  which  may  be  inscribed  our  future 
successes. 

When  traveling  thirty-odd  years  ago  on  the  Mississippi  River,  I 


230  APPENDIX 

took  notice  of  the  way  the  steamboat  made  some  of  its  landings  in 
the  night.  It  ran  as  near  as  it  could  to  the  mud-bank  and  put  out 
a  long,  narrow  plank  to  the  shore,  torches  being  held  on  deck  to 
hght  the  way.  The  boat  stopped  but  a  moment.  In  that  moment 
it  was  either  "  Go  ashore  "  or  "  Stay  aboard,"  and  if  the  night  was 
rainy,  the  plank  muddy  and  slippery,  the  hesitating  passenger  was 
carried  along  as  the  boat  went  on  its  way,  and  there  was  no  second 
opportunity  for  him  to  land.  Men  succeed  in  life  who  have  been 
able  to  grasp  the  few  opportunities  that  were  held  out  to  them. 

The  following  letter  is  quoted  entire  because  it  is  the  last 
circular  not  of  a  perfunctory  character  that  bears  Mr.  Hyde's 
signature. 

January  i,  1897 

A    NEW    year's    letter   TO    THE    MANAGERS    OF    THE    EQUITABLE 
LIFE    ASSURANCE    SOCIETY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES 

Gentlemen  :  We  have  made  our  adieus  to  the  departed  year  with- 
out much  regret,  and  standing  now  upon  the  threshold  of  a  new 
year,  scanning  the  horizon  before  us,  we  are  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  we  shall  have  opportunities  during  the  coming  days, 
weeks,  and  months  of  1897  to  accomplish  greater  results  than  we 
have  been  able  to  secure  during  the  depression  which  has  prevailed 
for  the  past  few  years. 

An  old  writer  says  that  "  Nature  is  exacting  and  relentless."  We 
all  know  that  if  we  violate  any  of  her  laws  punishment  will  come 
surely  and  swiftly ;  no  extenuating  circumstances  can  palliate  the 
crime.  The  business  world  is  governed  by  similar  principles. 
Cause  and  effect  are  clearly  outlined  on  every  hand.  If  a  man  has 
not  wisely  planned  his  course,  has  not  thoughtfully  provided  for  all 
contingencies,  his  failure  is  almost  certain  to  come. 

I  have  seen  men  who  possessed  ability  and  capacity  for  hard 
work,  and  yet  they  produced  no  valuable  business  results.  Is  it 
that  their  minds  are  not  intent  upon  their  work?  Or  did  they 
follow  it  only  as  a  necessity,  their  pride  and  pleasure  being  allied  to 
other  matters?  Were  they  destitute  of  clearly  defined  business 
plans?  Did  they  lack  persistency  and  continuity  of  purpose? 
Their  failure  answers  "  Yes"  to  all  these  questions. 


APPENDIX  231 

There  are  other  men  who  are  called  successful ;  people  sometimes 
envy  them.  How  have  these  men  attained  their  successes?  By- 
system,  by  order,  by  incessant  thought  and  industrious  work.  Were 
these  men  devoted  to  pleasure?  Were  they  more  fond  of  amusement 
and  entertainment  than  of  their  business?  No!  On  the  contrary, 
when  others  were  enjoying  their  ease  and  recreation,  they  devoted 
the  time  to  laying  out  plans  for  the  next  day  and  for  the  future. 

You  may  say  that  this  is  a  hard  life.  It  may  or  it  may  not  be 
hard,  according  to  the  disposition  of  the  individual.  The  successful 
man  derives  more  pleasure  and  real  satisfaction  from  his  hard-work- 
ing life  than  ever  comes  to  the  man  who  neglects  his  business  and 
suffers  the  penalty  which  such  neglect  brings.  If  you  do  not  like 
this  course  of  hfe,  you  may  think  it  to  be  a  severe  penalty  that  you 
pay  for  success ;  but  yet,  in  the  great  rush  of  modern  affairs,  this 
penalty  must  always  be  paid  before  a  great  success  can  be  achieved 
in  any  branch  of  business  life. 

The  beginning  01  a  new  year  is  a  proper  time  for  reflection 
respecting  the  course  which  you  shall  pursue.  The  first  thing  that 
may  occur  to  some  of  you  will  be  whether  it  is  wise,  after  all,  to 
continue  your  efforts  in  the  field  of  life  assurance.  It  is'  certainly 
your  duty  to  abandon  the  business  unless  you  have  a  love  and 
capacity  for  it,  unless  you  feel  that  you  "  have  it  in  you  "  to  succeed, 
and  are  also  willing  to  devote  to  it  your  entire  time  and  energies. 
If  you  depart  from  the  field,  there  will  remain  nothing  for  us  to  do 
but  to  bid  you  an  affectionate  good-by,  while  we  go  on  with  those 
who  have  cast  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  glorious  cause  to 
which  we  are  devoted. 

To  those  who  are  on  our  side,  and  on  whom  we  depend  in  the 
business  strife  that  is  before  us,  I  want  to  say  a  few  words : 

Our  obligations  for  the  support  of  our  families  and  the  education 
of  our  children,  our  desires  to  enjoy  the  comforts,  not  to  say  the 
luxuries,  of  life  as  we  go  along,  the  importance  of  having  a  capital 
"  to  bank  on  "  in  conducting  our  business,  and  also  the  hope  which 
we  all  have  to  lay  up  something  for  the  consolation  of  our  old 
age— all  these  things  urge  the  necessity  of  making  to-day  such  plans 
as  shall  insure  the  results  which  I  desire  each  of  you  to  attain. 
While  you  are  yet  in  health  and  strength,  and  able  to  work  hard, 
you  must  decide  the  question  whether  or  not  you  will  strive  to  attain 


232 


APPENDIX 


the  position  of  the  successful  man.  You  must  now  make  a  choice 
between  the  two.  If  you  neglect  this,  sickness  or  death,  coming 
unexpectedly,  may  rob  you  of  the  ability  to  profit  by  my  advice. 
Fortunately,  most  of  our  managers  are  on  the  right  side  of  the  line, 
and  deserve  my  congratulations. 

I  want  you  to  find  more  enjoyment  in  your  business  than  in  any- 
thing else ;  then  it  will  not  be  irksome  to  devote  a  greater  part  of 
your  time  to  its  prosecution ;  indeed,  it  will  be  easier  to  disengage 
yourself  from  all  other  things  and  press  forward  to  this  alone.  It 
is  but  a  step  from  love  for  the  business  in  which  you  are  successful 
to  an  enthusiasm  for  it.  The  man  of  one  idea,  whose  course  is 
marked  by  enthusiasm,  is  a  power  in  the  world.  All  leaders,  both 
in  great  and  small  affairs,  have  been  men  capable  of  inspiring 
enthusiasm  in  their  followers.  Remember  this  when,  at  the  head  of 
your  agents,  you  desire  to  produce  great  results.  Prove  to  them 
your  capability  as  a  leader,  and  don't  lie  in  the  ditch,  like  the  Wag- 
oner, and  cry  to  Jupiter  for  help.  If  you  do,  you  will  probably  get 
the  answer  that  he  did :  "  The  gods  help  those  who  help  themselves." 

Your  time  is  your  capital  in  business.  Learn  to  be  economical 
of  it  and  dexterous  in  the  use  of  it.  If,  at  the  close  of  each  day, 
you  will  think  over  what  you  have  done,  and  will  note  how  much 
time  you  have  wasted  so  far  as  any  desirable  results  are  concerned, 
you  may  be  led  to  keep  a  stricter  watch  upon  the  hours  of  the  next 
day  as  they  slip  by.  You  can  do  a  great  work  if  you  will  never  let 
a  day  pass  without  gathering  some  valuable  result,  and  you  will  be 
surprised,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  by  the  progress  made. 

I  want  you  to  spend  some  time  in  personally  canvassing  your 
district.  You  ought  to  write  more  applications  than  are  written  by 
any  of  your  agents.  I  am  not  able  to  understand  how  a  manager 
can  teach  his  agents  to  canvass  successfully  for  life  assurance  unless 
he  himself  can  canvass  for  it.  If  you  find  that  you  are  not  able  to 
become  a  master  of  the  business,  you  had  better  quit  it,  for  the 
stream  can  never  rise  higher  than  its  source. 

I  want  you  to  make  the  most  of  such  mental  endowments  (per- 
sonal peculiarities,  if  you  choose  so  to  call  them)  as  have  in  times 
past  brought  about  your  greatest  successes.  Sometimes  agents  who 
have  recently  engaged  in  the  business  of  hfe  assurance  feel  great 
embarrassment  with  regard  to  approaching  the  most  important  men 


APPENDIX  233 

in  their  community  in  reference  to  assuring  their  lives.  Some  fear 
one  thing,  some  another;  some  consult  their  fears  on  all  occasions, 
and  hardly  dare  to  go  forward.  But  if  they  will  take  good  heart 
and  go  forward  resolutely,  many  things  that  they  have  feared  will 
vanish.  The  lions  standing  in  their  pathway  will  retreat  as  they 
advance.  Do  not  think  that  other  men  succeed  better  than  you  do 
because  they  have  greater  ability;  it  may  be  that  you  can  do  as 
well  if  you  work  as  hard. 

"  The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight ; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night." 

I  hesitate  to  give  you  detailed  advice  regarding  the  best  method 
of  conducting  your  business,  but  desire  you  to  read  most  carefully 
the  book  entitled  "  A  Life  Assiurance  Agent's  Guide  to  Success," 
inclosed  herewith.  I  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  preparation 
of  this  book  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  I  have  never  read  it  without 
feeling  refreshed  by  new  impulses. 

During  the  coming  year  you  must  take  greater  pains  to  hold  the 
old  business  of  the  Society;  this  naturally  comes  under  the  charge 
of  the  cashier  and  office  force,  but  you  should  exhaust  every  means 
at  your  command  to  see  that  every  renewal  receipt  is  taken  and 
paid  for  by  the  assured. 

Nothing  is  of  greater  importance  for  the  success  of  your  agency 
than  a  prompt  delivery  of  new  policies.  Some  of  our  most  successful 
agents  place  at  least  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  their  business  at  the  time 
the  application  is  written,  by  the  use  of  binding  receipts.  This  is  most 
desirable,  and  agents  who  have  learned  to  do  their  business  in  this 
manner  would  not,  under  any  circumstances,  return  to  the  old  method 
of  always  waiting  to  place  the  policy  after  it  has  been  issued.  If, 
however,  a  binding  receipt  is  not  used  when  the  application  is 
written,  the  next  best  time  to  close  the  transaction  is  immediately 
after  the  policy  is  issued.  In  other  words,  learn  your  fate  by  deliv- 
ering the  policy  or  ascertaining  that  you  cannot  do  so.  By  follow- 
ing this  advice,  you  will  not  only  reduce  to  the  minimum  your  not- 


234 


APPENDIX 


taken-out  policies,  but  avoid  that  condition  of  mind  into  which  an 

agent  gets  who  carries  a  policy  in  his  pocket  week  after  week,  hoping 

against  hope  that  he  may  be  able  to   deliver  it,  but  without  the 

courage  to  force  the  issue. 

Sincerely  desiring  that  you  may  enjoy  a  Happy  New  Year,  and 

meet  with  an  encouraging  success  in  your  business,  I  remain, 

Very  cordially  yours, 

H.  B.  Hyde, 

President. 
New  York,  January  i,  1897, 


MR.   HYDE'S   LIFE-WORK 

BEING   A    RECORD    OF   FORTY   YEARS   OF 
THE   EQUITABLE   SOCIETY 

As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained  from  the  early  records,  there 
were  thirty-two  life  companies  operating  in  the  United  States 
in  1859  when  the  Equitable  was  organized.  Of  these,  twenty- 
four  were  transacting  business  in  New  York  and  Massachu- 
setts, and  with  these  the  infant  society  came  at  once  into 
active  competition.  It  occupied,  therefore,  at  that  time,  the 
twenty-fifth  position  among  the  active  companies  of  the  coun- 
try. But  its  increase  in  financial  strength,  measured  by  its 
growth  in  surplus,  was  so  rapid  that  at  the  end  of  the  year 
1875  there  were  only  five  other  companies  that  had  a  larger 
surplus.  In  1876  there  were  only  three;  in  1877  but  two;  in 
1878  but  one.  In  1880  the  Equitable  stood  first,  with  a 
surplus  larger  than  that  of  any  other  company  in  the  world. 
And  the  preeminent  position  then  reached  has  been  maintained 
uninterruptedly  from  that  day  to  this. 

Mr.  Hyde  died  nearly  three  months  before  the  Society's 
fortieth  birthday,  but  upon  the  completion  of  the  Society's 
Annual  Statement  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  he  knew 
approximately  the  figures  which  would  be  reported  to  the 
directors  and  agents  on  that  anniversary.  They  were  the  fol- 
lowing : 

235 


236  APPENDIX 


An  Unparalleled  Record 
On  its  Fortieth  Anniversary,  July  26,  1899 

THE   EQUITABLE 

LIFE   ASSURANCE   SOCIETY 

OF  THE  UNITED   STATES 

has  on  its  books  Outstanding  Assurance  for  over 

$  1 ,000,000,000, 

which  is  more  than  twice  the  amount  accumulated  by 
any  other  company  in  the  world  during  a  similar  period 
of  its  history.     Its  Assets  amount  to  over 

$270,000,000, 

which  is  more  than  twice  the  amount  held  by  any  other 
company  in  the  world  on  its  fortieth  anniversary.  Its 
Surplus  amounts  to  over 

$60,000,000, 

which  is  also  more  than  twice  the  amount  held  by  any 
other  company  at  the  end  of  its  fortieth  year. 


The  following  tables  (in  which  the  record  is  carried  up  to 
the  close  of  the  year  1899)  illustrate  the  growth  of  the  Society 
from  the  beginning  under  its  founder's  management.  None 
of  these  figures  illustrate  more  pointedly  the  steady  and  unin- 
terrupted character  of  that  growth  than  the  first  of  these 
tables. 


APPENDIX 


237 


GROWTH    IN   ASSETS   AND    SURPLUS 


December. 

1859 
i860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 
1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 


Assets. 
$117,102 
162,618 
210,636 

324,013 

584,714 

1,125,381 

1,648,486 

3,077,788 

5,125,423 

7,721,077 

10,510,824 

13,236,025 

16,174,825 

i9,695>oS3 
22,972,252 

25.981,757 
29,039,090 
31,734,934 
33,530,655 
35,454,092 
37,366,842 


Surplus. 
$96,154 
106,174 
119,836 

156,995 

258,321 

515,811 
305,704 
361,341 
382,663 

350,928 

319-755 

408,434 

837,874 
1,228,529 

1,549,746 
2,003,331 
2,602,305 

3.436,955 
4,105,003 

4,742,531 

S»55o»395 


December. 
1880 

i88i 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 


Assets. 
$41,108,602 
44,308,542 
48,025,751 
53,030,582 
58,161,926 

66,553,387 

75,510,473 

84,378,905 
95,042,923 

107,150,309 

119,243,744 
136,198,518 
153,060,052 
169,056,397 
183,544,310 
201,009,388 

216,773,947 
236,876,308 

258,369,299 
280,191,287 


Surplus. 
$6,957,855 

7,476,729 
8,078,495 

9,115,969 
10,483,617 

13,862,239 

16,355,876 

18,104,255 
20,794,715 
22,821,074 

23,740,447 
27,792,980 
31,189,815 
32,366,750 

35,979,803 
40,624,012 

43,277,179 

50,543,175 
57,310,489 

61,117,478 


GROWTH    AT   TEN-YEAR    INTERVALS 


IN   OUTSTANDING 

ASSURANCE 

Dec.  31,  1859    .    .    .         $1,144,000 

"        1869    .    .    ,        134,223,861 

1879    .    .    .        162,357,715 

"        1889    .    .    .        631,016,666 

"        1899    .     .    .     1,054,416,422 

IN    PAYMENTS 

TO   POLICY-HOLDERS 

Dec.  31,  1859    .     .     .            Nothing 

"         1869    .     .     .          $6,100,548 

1879    .     .     .          51,814,313 

1889    .     .     .         130,742,128 

1899    .    .     .        323,190,730 

IN  ANNUAL   RECEIPTS. 

OR   INCOME 

Dec.  31,  1859    .     .     .              $22,707 

1869    .     .     .            6,268,392 

1879    .     .    .            8,347,081 

1889    .     .     .          30,393,288 

"         1899    .     .     .          53,878,201 

IN   TOTAL    BENEFITS   TO 
POLICY-HOLDERS  1 
Dec.  31,  1859    .     .     .             $117,102 
1869    .     .     .          16,611,372 
1879    .     .     .          89,181,155 
1889    .     .    .        237,892,437 
1899    .     .     .         603,382,017 

1  By    Total  Benefits  to  Policy-holders  is  meant  the  sum  total  of  the  payments 
made  to  them,  and  of  funds  held  for  their  benefit. 


PORTRAIT   STATUE    OF    MR.    HYDE    UNVEILED 

On  the  2d  of  May,  1901,  the  directors  of  the  Society  assem- 
bled in  the  main  corridor  of  the  Equitable  Building  to  witness 
the  unveiling  of  the  portrait  statue  of  Mr.  Hyde,  designed  by 
John  Quincy  Adams  Ward,  the  sculptor  of  the  Society's  trade- 
mark "  Protection,"  typifying  the  genius  of  life  assurance 
guarding  with  shield  and  spear  the  widow  and  the  orphan. 

President  Alexander  spoke  as  follows  to  the  directors  and 
others  in  attendance : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Directors  and  Friends  of  the 
Equitable  Society:  We  meet  to-day  on  the  second  anniversary 
of  the  death  of  a  truly  great  man,  to  pay  a  tribute  of  love  and  respect 
to  his  memory  by  dedicating,  in  his  honor,  the  portrait  statue  exe- 
cuted by  the  sculptor  so  well  known  to  us  all,  John  Quincy  Adams 
Ward.  It  is  with  affection  and  veneration  that  we  thus  perpetuate 
in  bronze  the  form  and  features  of  our  departed  friend  and  leader. 
But  he  has  himself  impressed  his  character  and  his  genius  upon  the 
imperishable  fabric  of  this  great  institution  of  beneficence  which  he  so 
fitly  named  at  its  very  birth  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of 
the  United  States. 

It  is  no  disparagement  of  living  men  to  say  that  Henry  Baldwin 
Hyde,  the  founder  of  this  Society,  was  the  greatest  constructor  and 
developer,  in  the  field  chosen  by  him  for  his  work,  that  has  ever  been 
known  in  this  country. 

He  not  only  founded  the  company  which  he  lived  to  see  surpass 
all  others  in  strength  and  usefulness,  but  he  inspii-ed  others  with  his 
own  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  so  that  the  undertaking  molded  and 
brought  to  perfection  by  him  should  continue  with  ever-increasing 
force  and  effect  for  all  time. 

238 


APPENDIX  239 

He  was  not  content  with  rearing  an  immense  financial  corporation 
based  on  the. soundest  and  most  enduring  principles,  but  undertook 
and  successfully  wrought  out  a  complete  revolution  in  the  methods 
of  the  life  assurance  business,  eradicating  evils  which  had  become 
habitual  in  the  craft,  and  introducing  reforms,  all  of  which  were  so 
clearly  equitable,  just,  and  popular  that  the  example  set  by  the 
Society  has  become  crystallized  in  the  general  practice  of  all  com- 
panies asking  for  the  confidence  of  the  public. 

It  was  Mr.  Hyde  who  first  proved  that  the  European  field  could 
be  successfully  invaded  by  an  American  company.  It  was  under  his 
administration  that  the  policy  contract  was  simplified  and  liberahzed, 
making  it  intelhgible  to  all,  and  stripping  it  of  unnecessary  legal 
technicalities.  It  was  he  who  introduced  the  principle,  now  almost 
universal,  of  making  policies  indisputable  after  three  years  (a  period 
since  reduced  to  one),  thus  cutting  off  at  one  blow  the  possibiUty  of 
much  litigation  and  thus  forcing  the  companies  to  be  so  careful  at  the 
outset  that  subsequent  protective  measures  would  become  superfluous. 
It  was  he  who  made  pohcies  payable  immediately  on  the  death  of  the 
assured,  instead  of  keeping  the  widow  and  the  orphan  anxiously  wait- 
ing for  settlement  during  periods  varying  from  three  to  six  months. 

These  and  many  other  innovations,  all  based  on  an  honorable 
regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  were  never  conceived  of  until  this 
master  mind  and  far-reaching  hand  transformed  the  practice  and 
character  of  the  business,  so  that  from  an  uncertain  agency  for  good 
it  has  become  a  rock  of  reHance  resorted  to  by  a  largely  multiplying 
pubHc. 

The  seed  planted  by  Henry  Baldwin  Hyde  in  1859  has,  in  a  Httle 
over  forty  years,  become  a  mighty  tree  with  branches  sheltering  many 
thousands  of  families,  and  year  by  year  providing  for  multitudes 
otherwise  bereft.  From  nothing,  at  the  beginning,  the  thought  and 
toil  and  indefatigable  perseverance  of  this  man  of  iron  will  and 
determined  character  have  built  and  established  a  vast  institution  with 
invested  funds  of  over  three  hundred  milhons,  with  an  annual 
income  of  over  fifty-eight  millions,  with  outstanding  assurances  of 
over  eleven  hundred  millions,  with  a  surplus  of  over  sixty-six  mil- 
lions, and  with  a  sound  condition  and  an  honorable  record  which 
promise  an  uninterrupted  future  of  beneficence  and  renown. 

Proud  as  we  are  to  erect  to  the  unfading  honor  of  such  a  man  a 


240  APPENDIX 

monument  worthy  of  his  singularly  eminent  career,  we  are  still  more 
proud  to  know  that  his  most  significant  monument  is  this  great  and 
prosperous  and  successful  institution,  which  will  forever  speak  in  the 
eloquent  terms  of  good  deeds  well  done  by  him  whose  mortal  voice 
must  remain  silent  in  the  grave. 

Having  concluded  these  introductory  remarks,  the  presi- 
dent, in  introducing  the  Hon,  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  said : 

Senator  Depew,  who  was  for  many  years  the  associate  and  adviser 
of  our  late  friend,  and  who  is  so  intimately  connected  with  all  the 
affairs  of  the  Equitable,  has  been  good  enough  to  consent  to  say  a 
few  words  in  memory  of  oiu"  friend  and  in  connection  with  the  dedi- 
cation of  this  portrait  statue.  I  have  great  pleasure  in  introducing 
to  you — you  all  know  him  already — our  good  friend  Senator  Depew. 

Mr.  Depew  then  spoke  as  follows : 

My  Friends  :  The  springs  of  human  action  are  necessity  or 
ambition.  Necessity,  in  numberless  instances,  has  aroused  dormant 
faculties  and  produced  the  power  to  forecast  events,  to  discriminate 
in  enterprises,  to  originate  industrial  successes,  and  to  accumulate 
large  fortunes.  Ambition  seeks  fame  with  the  pen,  with  the  sword, 
or  in  statecraft.  Our  complex  civilization,  caused  by  invention  and 
discovery  and  the  numberless  increases  of  human  wants,  has  created 
a  combination  of  necessity  and  ambition.  When  these  are  united, 
there  exists  in  the  highest  form  selfish  personal  motives,  and  also 
the  impersonal  purpose  of  benefiting  mankind.  This  duplex  talent 
endeavors  in  a  lifetime  to  organize  an  educational  institution  equal  to 
those  which  are  the  creation  of  the  ages ;  it  interests  capital  for  the 
building  and  endowment  of  hospitals  or  asylums  for  special  purposes  ; 
it  unites  and  harmonizes  independent  systems  of  transportations, 
which  crystallize  into  a  workable  unit  of  great  public  benefit ;  or  it 
tries  to  found  an  institution  which  will  work  actively  and  untiringly 
for  the  promotion  of  human  welfare  and  happiness.  The  best  type 
of  this  class,  and  the  one  whose  name  is  most  likely  to  survive,  is 
Henry  B.  Hyde.  It  was  my  privilege  recently  to  deliver  at  Wash- 
ington the  address  at  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  a  distinguished 


APPENDIX  241 

soldier  and  statesman.  Congress  had  voted  the  money  for  the  me- 
morial, and  the  occasion  was  honored  by  the  presence  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  cabinet  and  the  chiefs  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  a  distinction  and  honor  to  the  memory  of  a 
soldier  and  statesman  eminently  deserved,  and  yet  our  country  has 
been  singularly  rich  in  soldiers  and  statesmen.  Almost  every  square 
of  the  capital  holds  and  cherishes  the  bronze  figure  of  a  man  who 
has  done  so  much  for  his  country  that  a  grateful  people  wish  to  keep 
him  in  this  way  in  lasting  remembrance. 

There  have  been  diiTerent  inspirations  for  the  youth  at  distinct 
periods  of  American  history.  The  Revolution  produced  states- 
men of  creative  genius,  like  Washington,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  the 
Adamses,  Roger  Sherman,  and  their  compatriots.  For  fifty  years 
young  men  who  had  the  energy  and  ability  to  rise  studied  the  lessons 
in  the  careers  of  these  Revolutionary  worthies.  Then  ideals  changed 
to  men  of  eloquence  at  the  bar  and  in  the  Senate — to  men  who  could 
interpret  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  give  it  lasting  form  in  mea- 
sures for  the  expansion  and  growth  of  the  country ;  and  these  ideals 
were  long  personified  in  the  triumvirate  of  Webster,  Clay,  and  Cal- 
houn. The  Civil  War  developed  the  fighting  passions  of  our  race, 
and  there  came  to  the  front  an  extraordinary  number  of  soldiers  with 
rare  capacity  for  command,  both  in  the  regular  and  volunteer  army. 
Since  the  Civil  War  the  onrush  of  material  prosperity  has  swept  the 
ingenuous  youth  of  the  country  from  the  farms,  the  apprentices' 
benches,  and  the  colleges  into  the  vortex  of  business  activities,  specu- 
lations, and  accumulations,  and  made  a  million  dollars  the  mark  and 
more  miUions  the  ambition  of  the  boys  of  our  land.  At  the  time 
when  this  passion  was  succeeding  the  wave  of  patriotism  and  willing- 
ness to  die  for  one's  country,  Henry  B.  Hyde  had  resolved  to  make 
the  definite  purpose  of  his  life  the  building  up  of  a  life  assurance  as- 
sociation which  should  lead  all  others  in  its  financial  responsibilities 
and  the  rapidity  and  solidity  of  its  growth.  All  those  faculties  which 
make  mammoth  fortunes — foresight  and  courage,  the  magnetism 
which  compels  capitalists  to  listen  and  invest,  and  the  initiative  and 
originality  which  use  wealth  as  it  accumulates  for  greater  and  still 
greater  ventures  and  triumphs — were  possessed  by  Mr.  Hyde  in  an 
eminent  degree.  Had  he  entered  the  race  for  riches  then  opening 
he  would  have  been,  at  his  death,  in  the  front  rank  of  those  whose 


242 


APPENDIX 


possessions  made  in  a  single  life  are  the  marvel  of  our  time.  But  he 
had  a  broader  view,  from  which  he  never  turned  from  the  commence- 
ment to  the  close.  He  started  with  an  institution  on  the  same  basis 
and  with  the  same  opportunities  as  threescore  of  others  which  began 
at  the  same  time,  and  all  but  nineteen  of  them  went  into  bankruptcy. 
The  company  opened  its  offices  with  a  small  amount  of  stationery 
piu-chased  \vith  the  limited  means  of  the  promoter.  Though  his 
acquaintance  was  not  large,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  into  the  direc- 
tory a  body  of  strong  men.  Policies  of  ten  thousand  dollars  taken 
out  by  each  director  and  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  deposited  in 
Albany  as  security  was  the  commencement  of  the  business  of  the 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society.  Trials  of  competition,  trials  of 
the  usual  periods  of  discouragement,  trials  of  losses  greater  than 
gains,  trials  of  financial  situations  well-nigh  hopeless,  trials  of  the  dis- 
astrous panics  of  the  last  half-century,  trials  of  the  sudden  changes  in 
investment  values  caused  by  revolutions  of  our  industrial  system,  came 
to  his  company,  as  they  did,  ruinously,  to  most  of  his  rivals,  to  be 
triumphantly  surmounted  by  his  genius.  He  gathered  about  him,  as 
did  Napoleon  in  war,  a  body  of  agents  whom  he  inspired  with  his 
own  indomitable  purpose,  resistless  will,  and  magnificent  hopefulness 
to  go  out  into  the  country,  educate  the  people  to  the  value  of  the 
seciu"ity  there  is  in  life  insurance,  and  to  persuade  them  that  although 
other  companies  might  be  greater  and  have  vaster  accumulations, 
their  safety  was  in  the  Equitable. 

At  the  end  of  forty  years,  when,  exhausted  with  his  labors,  Henry 
B.  Hyde  was  called  to  his  rest  and  reward,  he  left  behind  this  won- 
derful monument.  His  30  policies  have  grown  to  374,000,  his  out- 
standing assurance  has  increased  to  $1,117,000,000.  The  Society 
has  paid  out  to  policy-holders  $350,000,000,  and  still  retains  assets 
of  $305,000,000,  of  which  $66,000,000  is  surplus  for  the  security  of 
those  who  have  confided  in  it.  That  $305,000,000  might  easily 
have  been  the  sum  left  by  Mr.  Hyde  to  his  children  had  he  appHed 
the  same  energy  and  genius  to  his  private  fortune  that  he  gave  to  the 
company  which  he  loved  so  well,  and  for  which  he  worked  with  his 
whole  heart  and  soul  and  mind.  I  know  of  no  more  startling  con- 
trast than  this  $305,000,000,  if  devised  to  a  single  family  wath  all  the 
possibilities  of  its  use  or  misuse  in  the  succeeding  generations,  and 
that  sum  held  in  trust  by  a  company  managed  by  able  and  compe- 


APPENDIX  243 

tent  trustees  to  keep  from  want  hundreds  of  thousands  of  families  when 
the  bread-winner  is  gone,  and  to  educate  and  place  in  paths  of  useful- 
ness hundreds  of  thousands  of  orphaned  or  half-orphaned  children. 

The  growth  and  expansion  and  usefulness  of  this  beneficent  insti- 
tution does  not  stop  with  the  death  of  its  founder.  He  builded  for 
all  time.  His  spirit  and  purpose  live  in  and  are  the  motive  power  of 
the  Equitable  Society.  Like  all  truly  great  men  and  strong  execu- 
tive officers,  he  did  not  fear  to  have  able  associates.  He  sought 
everywhere  the  best  available  talent,  and  used  every  inducement  to 
secure  it  for  every  department  of  his  service.  It  is  the  weakness  of 
most  corporations  that  their  managers  fear  to  be  eclipsed  by  able  and 
ambitious  subordinates ;  but,  as  Napoleon  selected  for  his  marshals 
soldiers  as  near  his  own  standard  as  possible,  so  Mr.  Hyde  brought, 
from  every  walk  in  life,  those  who  impressed  him  because  of  their 
success  and  the  possession  of  talents  which  might  be  used  to  advance 
the  interests  of  his  company.  These  men,  as  officers  and  directors, 
continuing  through  time  to  fill  the  vacancies  by  selections  of  their 
kind,  will  keep  the  Equitable  marching  on.  It  is  no  wild  prediction 
that,  on  one  hand,  it  may  become  in  the  future  the  most  powerful 
financial  institution  in  the  world,  and,  on  the  other,  its  security,  per- 
petuity, and  growth  may  attract  so  many  that  its  enlarging  benefi- 
cence will  reach  and  protect  constantly  increasing  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  people,  not  only  in  the  United  States,  but  in  almost 
every  civilized  country  in  the  world. 

Time  obliterates  from  current  thought  and  recollection  the  states- 
men, the  soldiers,  and  the  great  fortunes  of  preceding  generations, 
but  as  the  Equitable  rounds  up  each  of  its  cycles  for  centuries  to 
come,  it  will  celebrate  the  name  and  achievements  of  its  founder. 

The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  to-day  places  in  the  vesti- 
bule of  the  great  building  which  houses  its  transactions  the  statue  of 
its  founder.  I  know  of  no  form  of  human  achievement  equal  to  the 
creation,  continuance,  and  development  of  this  company  for  keeping 
alive  forever  the  name  and  work  of  any  man.  Succeeding  genera- 
tions who  are  increasing  beneficiaries  will  hold  in  grateful  remem- 
brance Henry  B.  Hyde. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Senator  Depevv's  address,  the  Amer- 
ican flag  which  enveloped  the  statue  was  removed  by  Fourth 


244 


APPENDIX 


Vice-President  Mclntyre,  who  was  for  many  years  Mr.  Hyde's 
private  secretary.  President  Alexander  then  spoke  as 
follows : 

The  ceremonies  appropriate  to  this  great  occasion  are  ended :  the 
directors  and  friends  gathered  here  to  do  honor  to  a  great  name 
have  witnessed  the  unveiling  of  this  statue  erected  to  the  memory  of 
Henry  Baldwin  Hyde,  founder  of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  So- 
ciety of  the  United  States.  We  now  reverently  and  affectionately 
dedicate  this  monument  to  the  memory  of  our  departed  friend  and 
leader. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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